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Trade talks collapse after US,
China, India reject compromise
WSN Network
GENEVA:
Trade officials
said Tuesday that a high-level summit to salvage a global trade pact
collapsed, after the United States, China and India failed to
compromise on when poor countries could raise import tariffs on farm
products. It is known that a US dispute with China and India over
farm import safeguards had effectively ended any hope of a
breakthrough. Two officials said WTO chief Pascal Lamy had informed
ministers that convergence could not be reached after nine days of
talks that had aimed at a comprehensivedeal aimed at lowering the
tariffs and subsidies that hinder international trade.
The meeting had
been working on a broad compromise that, in short, would have let
poor countries sell more produce to rich countries while giving the
developedworld greater market access in developing countries for
servicesand manufactured goods. US Trade Representative Susan Schwab
appeared downcast as she began to brief reporters. She said
negotiators were "so close on Friday," but then stopped speaking. sked
if the entire
Doha
trade round was over, she said "I didn't say that" and walked away.
Negotiators were hoping for a deal this week on farm and industrial
trade, so that crisis-ridden WTO talks could be saved. They were
launched in 2001, but have repeatedly stalled amid deep divisions
between rich and poor nations. Some officials had described this
meeting at the WTO's Geneva headquarters as a last chance for the
trade round launched in Qatar's capital seven years ago, noting that
U.S. and other national elections would make negotiations difficult
over the next couple of years.
Without a final
deal, Europe will not be required to open up its farm markets to
emerging powers in
Latin America
and elsewhere. Brazil, China, India and other fastgrowing developing
nations won't have to ease access to manufacturing imports from the
rich world. And the
US
will not have to make any tough decisions on the billionsof dollars
in farm subsidies it pays out each to American growers of cotton,
soybean, rice and other staples. The debate over farm subsidies has
taken on added significance amid the recent spike in food prices
around the world. Poorer nations say the payments distort global
farm markets and hinder the development of sustainable agriculture
in the
Third World.
29
July, 2008
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