WTO food talks end in suspension and failure
by Anthony Fletcher
Pascal Lamy will demand a suspension of the Doha round of agriculture talks this week, after WTO members failed to reach a meaningful consensus.
Pascal Lamy will demand a suspension of the Doha round of agriculture talks this week, after WTO members failed to reach a meaningful consensus. This effectively means that the much-heralded talks, which were supposed to introduce important changes in global trade tariffs, have been a failure.
"We have missed a very important opportunity to show that multilateralism works," said Lamy, the WTO director general.
"The feeling of frustration, regret and impatience was unanimously expressed by developing countries this afternoon."
The main blockage is in the two agriculture legs of the triangle of issues, market access and domestic support. Differences of opinion over these issues has proved terminal.
"I very much regret that we were unable to find consensus among the G6 on the Doha Round 'modalities'," said EU agriculture minister Mariann Fischer Boel.
"We must be under no illusion that this break down can be painted in rosy colours."
There have always been significant differences between various trading blocs - the EU trade commissioner recently called the US the 'biggest single block' to the successful completion of the round but there had been a vague anticipation that some sort of accommodation could be reached.
This is now further away than ever. Lamy did not say when the negotiations would resume, but argued that movement towards a conclusion could only result from internal work within countries.
The decision to suspend negotiations was taken after talks among six major members broke down on Sunday. Ministers from Australia, Brazil, the European Union, India, Japan and the United States had met in Geneva to try to follow up on instructions from the St Petersburg Summit on 17 July.
The Geneva meeting was "lengthy and detailed but at its conclusion, it remained clear that the gaps remain too wide," said Lamy.
Lamy has therefore recommended the talks be suspended in all subjects across the round as whole to give members time to reflect. He warned however that there was a real possibility that an opportunity to integrate more vulnerable members into international trade could be lost.
"If the political will really exists, there must be a way," he said. "But it is not here today."
"And let me be clear: there are no winners and losers in this assembly. Today there are only losers.”
http://dairyreporter.com/news/ng.asp?n=69365-wto-doha-agriculture
(this article reproduced with permission from Dairy Reporter and Decision News Media)
post a question or comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org
Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.
Pascal Lamy will demand a suspension of the Doha round of agriculture talks this week, after WTO members failed to reach a meaningful consensus.
Pascal Lamy will demand a suspension of the Doha round of agriculture talks this week, after WTO members failed to reach a meaningful consensus. This effectively means that the much-heralded talks, which were supposed to introduce important changes in global trade tariffs, have been a failure.
"We have missed a very important opportunity to show that multilateralism works," said Lamy, the WTO director general.
"The feeling of frustration, regret and impatience was unanimously expressed by developing countries this afternoon."
The main blockage is in the two agriculture legs of the triangle of issues, market access and domestic support. Differences of opinion over these issues has proved terminal.
"I very much regret that we were unable to find consensus among the G6 on the Doha Round 'modalities'," said EU agriculture minister Mariann Fischer Boel.
"We must be under no illusion that this break down can be painted in rosy colours."
There have always been significant differences between various trading blocs - the EU trade commissioner recently called the US the 'biggest single block' to the successful completion of the round but there had been a vague anticipation that some sort of accommodation could be reached.
This is now further away than ever. Lamy did not say when the negotiations would resume, but argued that movement towards a conclusion could only result from internal work within countries.
The decision to suspend negotiations was taken after talks among six major members broke down on Sunday. Ministers from Australia, Brazil, the European Union, India, Japan and the United States had met in Geneva to try to follow up on instructions from the St Petersburg Summit on 17 July.
The Geneva meeting was "lengthy and detailed but at its conclusion, it remained clear that the gaps remain too wide," said Lamy.
Lamy has therefore recommended the talks be suspended in all subjects across the round as whole to give members time to reflect. He warned however that there was a real possibility that an opportunity to integrate more vulnerable members into international trade could be lost.
"If the political will really exists, there must be a way," he said. "But it is not here today."
"And let me be clear: there are no winners and losers in this assembly. Today there are only losers.”
http://dairyreporter.com/news/ng.asp?n=69365-wto-doha-agriculture
(this article reproduced with permission from Dairy Reporter and Decision News Media)
post a question or comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org
Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.
posted by Center for Rural Affairs @ 10:50 AM
2 Comments:
At 11:45 PM,
Anonymous said…
this is the best quote from this article
"And let me be clear: there are no winners and losers in this assembly. Today there are only losers.” Pascal Lamy
Well Mr. Lamy, I think that most days there are only losers in that assembly.
At 2:54 PM,
Anonymous said…
I think it is time to tell the Cotton Council and the Farm Bureau to stick it in their ear and declare that unless a farm bill is written that does not diminish rural communities and decimate family farmers then we would rather not have a farm bill at all. Perhaps a better way of saying it is that Representative and Senators that have fought for reforms in farm programs that would support family farmers and ranchers and rural communities should vote no on any farm bill that continues the destruction of rural America that have been brought on by the last two farm bills.
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