Opinion - Editorials   

No breakthrough in sight

Trade ministers and negotiators from four important trading blocs of the World Trade Organisation at their recent meeting in Potsdam, Germany, failed to break the deadlock in the Doha development round. On the face of it, there is nothing to distinguish the latest failure from the several previous ones. While details of the meeting are still unclear, it appears that both sides — the European Union and the United States on the one hand, and India and Brazil on the oth er — broadly stuck to their well known positions on agriculture. The developed countries would not countenance a substantial cut in subsidies and support to the farming sector without the developing countries allowing greater market access for their products, both agricultural and manufactured. That nothing has changed is clear from the statement of Commerce Minister Kamal Nath after the meeting. Blaming the U.S. in particular, he said “the developed countries are looking at promoting and protecting the prosperity of their farmers, whereas in India we are talking about protecting the livelihood of our farmers.” The view from the other side is naturally different. Both the U.S. and the EU have accused India and Brazil of being inflexible. Public posturing by politicians and political appointees is perhaps inevitable in complex trade talks. Yet now, more than at any time in the past, hopes for a breakthrough seem to be fading fast.

While multilateral negotiations will continue at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, the likelihood of smaller groups of representative nations such as the G4 — or the G6 that met in New Delhi in April — spearheading a consensus approach has all but disappeared. There were inherent difficulties in such an approach anyway. No two countries, such as India and Brazil, can be expected to have identical views. The U.S. and the EU have had major differences over farm support and subsidies. After the Hong Kong meet of the WTO in December 2005, it has been the small groups of influential trading nations that have kept the hopes of a breakthrough alive. But each successive failure has lengthened the odds and made the official declarations after the meetings sound unreal. Even as recently as in April, the G6 countries seemed to think that a draft agreement by July, followed by a wrap-up of the Doha round by the end of this year, was achievable. Considerably stretching the odds is the imminent expiry of the U.S. President’s fast track authority to negotiate trade deals. The new U.S. Congress is reportedly more protectionist. Perhaps the only good news is that all member-countries are still publicly committed to negotiations for bringing the Doha round to a conclusion.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

No breakthrough in sight
An African initiative
One year of the LDF Government
Equality and full employment can co-exist
Corrections and clarifications
Weaving a life in Anantapur
Online shopping: it can’t beat the real thing
Findings on birth order and IQ prompt debate
President’s election
Kalam's 'no'
Unfortunate reaction

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu