GENEVA: Deadlock at the WTO (World Trade Organization) once again defeated ministers trying to open up talks on a global trade liberalization pact ahead of a 2010 deadline, with developing countries taking a constructive stance.
A group of 22 developing nations produced a tariff-cut deal negotiated on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting, saying it demonstrated that they were not the cause of the Doha stalemate.
The group signed an outline deal on Wednesday to cut tariffs on industrial goods by at least one-fifth to boost South-South trade from next year.
The deal, including trade heavyweights Brazil, India, Argentina and South Korea but not China, throws into relief the difficulties WTO members rich and poor are having in reaching a comprehensive trade-opening agreement.
Jorge Taiana, foreign minister of Argentina, which chaired the talks, said the pact showed developing countries were keen to clinch deals to expand trade and were not responsible for holding up the WTO’s stalled Doha Round of global negotiations.
“This is a clear demonstration that the developing countries are willing to continue working on strengthening South-South trade and in a process of liberalization compatible with development,” Taiana told a news conference.
“The negotiations will intensify in the coming weeks,” Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma told a news conference, while stressing any eventual agreement would need to protect the livelihoods of poor farmers.
The Doha talks are far more complex than Wednesday’s deal since they cover the full range of trade from manufactured goods and agriculture to services among 153 countries. The 22-nation agreement — under the Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP) — will focus on industrial goods.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said it would involve the actual tariffs countries apply to each other’s goods rather than the maximum ceilings negotiated at the WTO. “This will an important cut of real significance that will create trade immediately among countries of a similar level of development,” he said.
Under the deal, countries agreed to cut tariffs on at least 70 percent of goods by at least 20 percent. They will negotiate the precise reduction and spell out on which goods they fall by the end of September 2010.
The 22 countries represent a market of 2.6 billion people accounting for 13 percent of world GDP, 15-18 percent of trade, 43 percent of farm and 16 percent of industrial production.
The tariff cuts could boost trade among them by $8 billion, said Supachai Panitchpakdi, secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which helped participants negotiate the deal.
While the three-day ministerial meeting is not meant to be a negotiating session on the long-running Doha Round of trade liberalization talks, it is aimed at taking stock on progress and seeking ideas to advance the round.
A successful Doha outcome would boost the global economy by around $170 billion annually, some estimates show. Trade is being seen as critical to helping the global economy, especially developing countries, recover from the worst recession in decades.
