www.agp.org | Archives - WTO info: Sharp differences remain in WTO talks - US aide

WASHINGTON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Two weeks ahead of a major World Trade Organization meeting, countries are still sharply divided on the key issue of agriculture, but a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday it too soon to say the talks would fail.

Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Peter Allgeier said countries also strongly disagree over mechanisms for cutting industrial tariffs and whether to formally launch negotiations on investment and other so-called "Singapore issues" that have been a priority for the European Union.

However, Allgeier told reporters it was too early to say the Cancun, Mexico, meeting was headed for disaster.

"I don't think you should draw that conclusion ... These are very, very difficult issues," he said in a conference call from Geneva where negotiators were wrapping up three weeks of intense preparations for the Sept. 10-14 meeting.

Meanwhile, in an issue of symbolic importance to the overall talks, the United States reached agreement on Wednesday with a key group of four developing countries on how to ensure poor states have access to cheap life-saving drugs, Singapore's ambassador to the WTO Vanu Gopala Menon told reporters.

The United States still hopes countries can make enough progress at Cancun to keep world trade talks on track to conclude by January 2005, Allgeier said. The negotiations were launched in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001.

A draft declaration for the Cancun meeting issued earlier this week by WTO General Council Chairman Carlos Perez del Castillo "falls short of the level of ambition" the United States would like to see, Allgeier said.

However, Perez del Castillo is expected to deliver a letter to trade ministers along with the draft outlining the important decisions that they will need to make in Cancun, he said.

The United States will push for changes to the draft that would allow an ambitious level of market opening in all areas of the talks, while still providing the poorest countries with some flexibility to protect sensitive industries, he said.

WTO members should avoid creating a "bifurcated trading system" where developing countries are routinely allowed to maintain higher levels of protection against imports than industrialized nations, he said.

Agricultural trade reform is the top priority for most countries involved in the Doha round talks.

After months of impasse, the United States and the European Union presented a joint plan two weeks ago for cutting domestic farm payments, export subsidies and agricultural tariffs.

But many WTO members have criticized the proposal for not completely eliminating export subsidies and potentially allowing the United States and the EU to maintain generous levels of trade-distorting domestic support.

Sharp differences remain in WTO talks - US aide Wed August 27, 2003 01:07 PM ET

Sharp differences remain in WTO talks - US aide
Wed August 27, 2003 01:07 PM ET