MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Trade discussion unchanged, but there's a “window” of hope

Members of the World Trade Organization, WTO failed in Geneva to reach an agreement for the relaunching of trade talks but officials are hopeful that at the beginning of the politically loaded 2004, progress can be achieved.

Agriculture subsidies, farm and industrial tariffs once again proved to be contentious obstacles and the WTO General Council finally decided to let its self-imposed December 15 deadline pass by.

"Our collective aim for today, as instructed by ministers in Cancun, was to arrive at a point were negotiations can resume full momentum", said WTO Director General Supachai Panichpakdi.

"We're not yet at that point, but we must not feel discouraged", added Mr. Supachai. However Mr. Supachai and Ambassador Carlos Pérez del Castillo from Uruguay who presides over the WTO General Council agreed that some progress in the right direction had been achieved.

"We believe that at the beginning of the coming year we have "a launching window" that could enable us to advance further", underlined Mr. Pérez del Castillo who nevertheless admitted that "real negotiations have yet to begin, divergences remain strong".

The current free trade round of negotiations started in Doha, Qatar, November 2002 became paralyzed last September in Cancún, Mexico when divisions on rich countries agriculture subsidies that less developed members want reduced became the core of the discussions. Negotiations could further stall in 2004 since the presidential election in United States is scheduled for November and the European Union will be expanding into a 25 countries block plus the fact that a new European Committee has to be named.

Nevertheless the Geneva talks received a heartening boost last Friday when the G 20, a coalition of developing countries, and the European Union announced in Brasilia that their positions had become closer.

In a joint statement G-20/EU delegates said the meeting had been fruitful and positive "with both sides explaining their positions in a businesslike manner". "The challenge next year will be to keep the talks on rail because the major players will be absorbed by internal affairs", remarked Canadian delegate Sergio Marchi. "You don't need to be a wise man to anticipate we're going to have many difficulties to keep to the original timetable of concluding the Doha round by December 31 of next year".

Ambassador Pérez del Castillo said that in spite of the fact the WTO General Council December 15 deadline was not kept, "obstacles are now more clear and possible solutions are also more visible".

In direct reference to agriculture Ambassador Perez del Castillo said that the commitment to eliminate all incentive to overseas farm sales is a compulsory condition for negotiations to be successful", but some WTO members "currently can't commit themselves".