At a press conference in Paris during the time of the annual ministerial meeting of the Organization for Economic Development (OECD), US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick made an announcement that he and the European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy had agreed on the outlines of tariff cutting principles for the WTO Doha Round. Zoellick stated that there were four elements to their agreement: 1. A single formula cut of a harmonizing nature (high tariffs would be cut proportionately more than low ones); 2. Sectoral zero-for-zero tariff elimination, where a critical mass of countries (not all WTO countries would have to agree) would support zero tariffs in particular industry sectors; (NOTE: This is the first time the EU has endorsed the zero for zero approach.) 3. Elimination of low tariffs; and 4. Special treatment to differentiate the market opening responsibilities of the poorest countries. The Doha Round - named for the capital of Qatar where nations agreed in 2001 to begin a new campaign for liberalized trade rules - has as its goal to get the world's trading nations (virtually all countries) to commit to a new round of tariff cuts and trade-barrier removals that should, in theory, increase trade and prosperity for all nations. That was the idea behind the last round of worldwide trade talks, the Uruguay Round, which resulted in a major trade deal a decade ago and the establishment of the World Trade Organization. Now officials increasingly fear that the midterm review of the Doha negotiations scheduled for September 10 through 14 in Cancun, Mexico, could be a fiasco. And speculation is growing that the target date of January 1, 2005 for completing a new international trade accord may have to be delayed for up to two years. A great many reasons are cited for this pessimistic forecast. Among them: unrealistically high expectations going into the round; the prospect that nations will face some politically difficult choices that everyone wants to put off; intransigent negotiating positions staked out at the beginning of the talks; and a growing sense by trade experts that rich countries erred in promising to use the negotiations to address the development needs of poor nations. As a result, the developing countries have proposed more than 80 exemptions for "special and differential" treatment, including for prolonged phase-in periods for tariff cuts and the right to shelter their farmers and infant industries from foreign competition. The result has been a series of missed early deadlines and growing frustration on all sides. So far, negotiators have missed deadlines for agreeing on the outlines of four Doha goals: 1. A promise to developing countries that they will have access to essential medicines invented in industrial countries; 2. A pledge to fully implement the previous trade agreement; 3. An assurance that poor nations will get "special and differential treatment" in this round; and 4. A commitment to devise a framework for negotiating reductions in farm subsidies.
 American Wire Producers Association |
