Thread: The Doha round of WTO talks

The Doha round of WTO talks

* Angela Balakrishnan
* guardian.co.uk,
* Monday July 21, 2008

Why it is called the Doha round?

These trade negotiations got their name because they started in Doha, Qatar. They were meant to have begun at the World Trade Organisation ministerial conference of 1999 in Seattle and would have been called the millennium round but some developing countries refused join, partly because of their dissatisfaction with the outcomes of the Uruguay round.

What is the point of the talks?

The Doha round is aimed at liberalising global trade to make importing and exporting cheaper and easier, with a special emphasis on improving the economies of developing countries. Negotiators hope to reach an agreement that will see many of the WTO's 152 countries cut subsidies to their producers and stop protecting home markets by lowering tariffs to let goods in. A deal to increase trade with developing nations to help bridge the divide between rich and poor nations is also hoped to be reached.

What is the time frame?

The negotiations started in 2001 and have been crawling along ever since, with meetings around the world and deadlines constantly being missed. Originally the deadline was set to be January 2005 but the talks reached deadlock during meetings in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007. They have collapsed three times over the last seven years.

The US presidential elections also set a cut-off date as the end of June last year, since Congress needs to ratify any US part of the deal for it to become law. Officials were seen as being unwilling to extend this deadline. However, talks began again today.

What are the main issues of contention?

Domestic producers are very nervous about the impact of freeing up trade rules and reducing protection for their industries. They want extra export opportunities in compensation. Negotiators are having most difficulty reaching agreement on agricultural trade and manufactured goods. The agricultural side is stuck in a row over bananas, with Latin America calling for easier access to Europe but Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific producers resisting. Meanwhile, developing countries think they are being asked to allow too much access for manufactured goods to their markets.

What are the potential gains?

The World Bank has estimated that a deal could generate £145bn extra trade by 2015, helping to lift some developing countries out of poverty and also end the food crisis gripping low-income countries because of soaring food prices.

Why is the US election so important?

The US commitment to the talks has been ensured by president George Bush. However, it is unclear whether the next president of the world's largest and most influential economy will commit to negotiations. Democrat Barack Obama has indicated that he wants to protect US producers while Republican John McCain is a staunch proponent of free trade and has vowed to pushed for lower subsidies and trade barriers, which could provide a much needed breakthrough.

However, a bill about to go through Congress would preserve high subsidies for farmers in the US, making a global deal almost impossible.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008 ... =worldnews

Doha Round negotiators bear down in hopes of deal this year

Recriminations damage prospects in WTO talks
By Jonathan Lynn Reuters
Published: March 9, 2008

GENEVA: Trade negotiators are entering a critical period in their efforts to wrap up a new world trade agreement by the end of the year.

At stake is a pact to increase trade and growth in a world economy buffeted by financial crises, as new markets open for businesses in sectors from food to finance in rich and poor countries alike.

But optimism at the start of the year that a deal could be reached soon has faded. The talks have bogged down in technical details and recriminations among rich and poor countries about who should show the greatest ambition in lowering barriers.

Meetings this week on central agriculture and industrial goods will determine whether World Trade Organization mediators can issue revised texts distilling the progress.

Those negotiating texts, and a set of talks this week on the services sector, are intended to pave the way for a meeting of trade ministers who would agree to the outlines of a deal.
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Negotiators for the Doha round of talks, which started in 2001, have entrenched their positions, making little progress during the past month in narrowing the gaps as they review the latest revisions of the agriculture and industry drafts issued Feb. 8.

As a result, the hoped-for meeting of ministers, anticipated as early as Easter, now looks likely to take place in mid-April, if at all.

The ministers will take the final political decisions on the cuts in tariffs and subsidies, and much of the current negotiation focuses on exceptions that rich and poor countries want in order to protect politically sensitive industries or crops.

Rich countries like the United States say they cannot sell a cut in farm subsidies at home if the deal also involves waivers that allow other countries to dilute market access for their exporters.

But poor countries, pointing out that the Doha round is supposed to help them in particular, complain they are being asked to do more than the rich. Brazil, a large agricultural exporter, says rich nations want to keep triple-digit tariffs on some farm products, including a 1,720 percent tariff on one Japanese import.

It is not simply a rich-poor quarrel. Many developing states are also eyeing the prospects of greater trade between them, and rich food exporters like Canada or Australia would like a bigger share of food markets in the European Union or Japan.

But the EU trade chief, Peter Mandelson, said last month that there was a big risk that the Doha would fail. David Woods, a trade analyst and former WTO spokesman, said the mood was grim.

"Deep down, people have given up in the sense of expecting a conclusion this year," Woods said. "The cracks are becoming a chasm and people are looking around for whom to blame."

Susan Schwab, the top U.S. trade representative, said Wednesday that it was up to advanced developing countries like India and Brazil to contribute. In return, she said, the United States was ready to make a dramatic reduction in its trade-distorting farm subsidies.

Schwab says that the administration of President George W. Bush is determined to conclude a deal this year before its term ends.

But many countries doubt Bush's ability to sell a deal to the U.S. Congress and are not putting all their cards on the table, Woods said. Protectionist rhetoric is also rising as the Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton fight for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Agriculture, to be discussed Monday, is crucial to the talks because of its significance for developing countries - not just exporters like Brazil, but also states where millions of very poor farmers make up the bulk of the population.

The WTO mediator and New Zealand ambassador Crawford Falconer hopes to see progress on much-delayed domestic consumption data that rich countries would use to calculate import quotas for certain "sensitive" products at the full tariff reduction, in return for being able to shield the bulk of imports from lower tariffs.

A similar issue is the extent to which developing countries would shield products they designate as special from the full range of tariff cuts to protect their subsistence farmers.

At meetings on industrial goods later in the week, the Canadian ambassador Don Stephenson, also chairman of the talks, will be under pressure to revise proposals to link the size of tariff cuts by developing states to the extent of exemptions those countries seek.

Many countries also want him to give developing countries some credit in the size of their overall tariff reductions if they take part in an optional agreement which eliminates tariffs for a particular industrial sector like textiles or car parts.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/09/business/wto.php

All of these are links... please go to the link below to view them

Hot Topics: Doha Development Round - World Trade Organization

Washington Delegation Press Room

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Basic Websites
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EU Agriculture/Rural Development Commissioner Fischer Boel prior to WTO Talks (7/17/0
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EU Reviews US WTO Policy & Protectionism; Statement by EU WTO Ambassador Eckhart Guth (6/11/0
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STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR BRUTON ON GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS; Backgrounder (4/24/0
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EU Council on Doha (3/10/0
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson: Poorest Need Doha (2/29/0
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Ambassador John Bruton on Importance of Concluding Doha Round (12/6/07)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson on Doha in Reuters Interview (10/11/07)
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Doha Deal Could Boost Economic Confidence and Insure Against Recession (9/17/07)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson: Doha Clock is Ticking (9/11/07)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson on APEC & Doha; EU/APEC Trade; More (9/4/07)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson & Agriculture & Rural Development Commissioner Fischer Boel on G4 Ministerial WTO Doha Negotiations (6/21/07)
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WTO Negotiators Meet in Potsdam for G4 Ministerial (6/18/07)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson Urges G8 Doha Action (6/5/07)
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Statement of Group of Four on Trade (5/18/07)
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EU at Doha Talks, India, April 11-12 (4/5/07)
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Russia & WTO (3/27/07)
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Globalization & Agriculture: EU Response (3/9/07)
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EU/India Trade & WTO Doha Round (3/6/07)
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WTO Acknowledges Crucial EU Role (2/26/03)
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"Putting People at the Center of Globalization" (2/26/07)
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EU Agriculture & Rural Development Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel: "EU Agriculture in a Globalized World" (2/9/07)
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EU 1st Reaction to US Farm Bill (2/1/07)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson on Doha Status at WTO Ministers Meeting (1/27/07)
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Europe & Japan Increase Doha Efforts (1/10/07)
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President Bush & European Commission President Barroso on Doha; EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson & US Trade Rep. Schwab Press Conference (1/8/07)
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Final Push on Doha (1/6/07)
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Myths about World Agricultural Trade (12/06)
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European Parliament Calls for Talks' Resumption (12/4/06)
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Providing Leadership in the Doha Round (11/21/06)
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WTO Chief Lamy on Doha Round (10/18/06)
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EU on Bilateral Agreements to Boost Global Free Trade (10/9/06)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson on EU/US Talks (9/29/06)
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Brazil & the Global Economy (9/11/06)
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EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson on AgriTalk with Mike Adams: EU on WTO Doha Round, September 7, 2006; Podcast
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G20 Summit Affords WTO Doha Review & Talks (9/5/06)
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EU Farm Trade Reform, Australian Financial Review, Melbourne (8/31/06)
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PETER MANDELSON, EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR TRADE: A Deal Can Still Be Salvaged From The Doha Ashes, EU Insight, Issue No. 1, 2006
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson: Doha Risks "Losing the Race against Time" (8/1/06)
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"A Deal Can Still Be Salvaged from the Doha Ashes," By Peter Mandelson, Financial Times, July 30, 2006
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EU Committed to Keep WTO Doha Flag Flying; EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson: "We Need to Look Ahead & Rebuild" (7/25/06)
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Rigid Stance by US Makes Breakdown and Suspension of WTO Doha Negotiations Inevitable (7/24/06)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson's Statement; Salvaging Doha? (7/24/06)
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EU Agriculture & Rural Development Commissioner Fischer Boel's Statement (7/24/06)
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Doha Fact Sheets:
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Doha Lite? New Market Access in the Doha Round
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No Deal Better Than a Bad Deal?
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The US and a Doha Deal; Background
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Economic Analysis
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Doha Development Agenda (DDA): Chronology
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"WTO Talks Collapse," By Liam Halligan: Interview with Washington Delegation Spokesman Anthony Gooch, Head, Press & Public Diplomacy Section, UK Channel 4 (Channel Four Television Corporation), July 24, 2006

Basic Websites:

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Doha Development Agenda (DDA): EU Trade Directorate General
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EU & WTO
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EU Trade Directorate General's Doha Fact Sheets, Chronology, Documents
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Press Pack

MORE NEWS:

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Doha Ministerial, June 28+:
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Ministerial Q&A (6/30/06)
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EU "Landing Ground" for Farm/Manufactures Deal (6/30/06)
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EU Pushes for Doha Success (6/29/06)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson Urges Doha Services Progress (6/27/06)
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Background (6/23/06)
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"Doha: What Is at Stake?" Speech by EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson (pictured), Canada/UK Chamber of Commerce, London; Press Release (6/23/06)
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Analysis (6/23/06)
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Doha Update (5/29/06)
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EU Tells OECD Doha at Critical Stage (5/25/06)
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Developing Countries Have Everything to Gain from Doha (5/15/06)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson: EU Trade Policy beyond Doha (5/3/06)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson on DDA Ministerial Meeting Cancellation (4/26/06)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson again Calls for Movement (4/21/06)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson Pushes Progress (4/11/06)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson on Limited Options (3/21/06)
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EU Welcomes Carnegie Research on Doha Talks' Developing Countries Impact (3/17/06)
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London G6 Meeting, March 10-12, 2006:
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Bridge to Wider WTO Agreement; More (3/10/06)
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Preparation for April Deadline (3/8/06)
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EU's & Others' Plurilateral Push for Doha Services Accord (2/28/06)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson & US Trade Rep. Portman on Doha (2/22/06)
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Mandelson Press Conference; Transcript (2/22/06)
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EU/US Relations & Doha (2/21/06)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson Urges Africans to Speak Out at Doha Talks (2/9/06)
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"Re-Claiming Development in the Doha Round" (2/9/06)
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EU/N. Zealand Talks (2/2/06)
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EU/India Doha Talks (2/1/06)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson on Doha (1/23/06)
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WTO's Lamy & EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson Discuss Doha (1/12/06)
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EU Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) (12/21/05)
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EU on WTO Generic Medicines Access Solution (12/6/05)
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EU on Doha at G7 (12/2/05)
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G90: Doha & Development; More; Background; Goals (11/30/05)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson: "Trade & Poverty" (11/10/05)

Agricultural Issues:

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Myths about World Agricultural Trade (12/06)
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EU Perspective on Doha Outcome (3/1/06)
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EU Agriculture Offer's Straight Facts (2/3/06)
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EU Agriculture Commissioner Fischer Boel Press Statement (1/12/06)
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EU Agriculture & the World Trade Talks (2/27/05)

Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting, December 13-18, 2005:

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Final Statement by EU Commissioners Mandelson & Fischer Boel (mp3)(12/18/05)
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EU Welcomes Successful Meeting Outcome; Agreement Text; EU Position (12/18/05)
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Main Issues (12/18/05)
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Draft Ministerial Declaration (12/17/05)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson's Press Conference (12/16/05)
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EU Conditions for Export Subsidies' End (12/16/05)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson's Press Conference (12/15/05)
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EU Agriculture Commissioner Fischer Boel & Trade Commissioner Mandelson: Statements (12/15/05) (mp3)
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Food Aid: EU Urges US Reform (12/14/05)
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What Is the EU Asking from Developing Countries? (12/14/05)
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EU Committed to Developing Countries' Bananas Fair Deal (12/14/05)
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Q&A with EU Agriculture Commissioner Fischer Boel & Trade Commissioner Mandelson (12/14/05)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson's Plenary Session Speech (12/14/05)
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"EU Has Offered Concessions," EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson, USA Today (12/13/05)
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"Trading Favors," EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson, New York Times (12/13/05)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson at World Bank/IMF Panel (12/13/05)
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EU Big New Trade Aid Boost (12/13/05)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson at Opening WTO Parliamentary Assembly (12/12/05)
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EU Calls for Progress (12/12/05)
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EU Agriculture Facts (12/12/05)
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EU Agriculture Commissioner Fischer Boel: "Agriculture: Outlook for Hong Kong" (12/12/05)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson's Statement Prior to Departure for Hong Kong (12/8/05)
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"THE ROAD TO HONG KONG: MIXING AMBITION WITH REALISM," Speech by Ambassador John Bruton; More (12/8/05)
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Agriculture Directorate General's WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting Website; Pre-Hong Kong Press Conference (EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson & EU Agriculture Commissioner Fischer Boel) (12/8/06)
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European Parliament's Position (12/1/05)
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Council of the EU (11/21/05)
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Mandelson Statements: Nov. 7; Nov. 8; Nov. 9
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"Where Next for Doha" (EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson's Nov. 3 Wall Street Journal editorial)
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EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson: "Doha: Goals for Hong Kong" (11/23/05)
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New EU Offer (10/28/05)

http://www.eurunion.org/newsweb/hottopics/doha.htm