11 October 2007

 

 

 

World trade talks could be headed for failure if advanced developing countries like Brazil and India balk at opening their markets to more foreign manufactured goods, U.S. industry officials said on Wednesday.

 

"When you have a group of countries that say we don't want to liberalize, how can you move ahead?" said Frank Vargo, vice president for international economic affairs at the National Association of Manufacturers. "If they persist in this direction, it could be the end of the Doha round."

 

Vargo's comment echoed those U.S. trade officials made on [9 October], after major developing countries outlined a proposal that would give the United States and other rich countries few, if any, new export opportunities in exchange for cutting their farm subsidies and tariffs….

 

… refusing to negotiate seriously on manufacturing and services trade liberalization until "the dust has settled on agriculture ... is a formula for failure," [US trade negotiator] Allgeier said.

 

What U.S. business groups find most frustrating is the refusal of the so-called NAMA-11 group -- which includes India, Brazil and other advanced developing countries -- to say they are willing to negotiate a final manufacturing agreement on the basis of a draft text released in July….

 

The draft manufacturing text already provides less new market access than U.S. companies hoped they could get when the Doha talks begin, Irace said. In addition, less than 30 developing countries would actually have to make any tariff cuts because of an agreement to exempt the very poorest WTO members from opening their markets, she said.

 

By indicating they can't work from the July text, the NAMA-11 have raised questions about whether they really want a deal….

 

Jeffrey Schott, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said he suspected the developing country statement was a clumsy attempt to shift the focus of the talks back to agriculture and away from manufacturing….