Mixed Messages From The EU Over Doha Farm Trade

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

29 May 2006

Crucial talks in Paris last week over Doha Round farm trade offers saw no progress: Peter Mandelson, EU Trade Commissioner, said that the EU could improve its offer, but was headed off by French President Jacques Chirac, who told a Brazilian press conference that the EU could go no further without concessions from others.

Chirac called on Brazil to help by exerting 'friendly pressure' on the US 'to make them more reasonable' over their own agricultural support programs. 'It is the United States that holds the key to the problem. The key is neither in Europe, nor in Brazil, nor in emerging countries,' said Chirac.

US officials attacked Chirac's position, saying his remarks were 'unhelpful'. The US Trade Representative's chief WTO negotiator, Jason Hafemeister, complained that the EU had given conflicting signals over its willingness to make further concessions.

The Paris talks were chaired by Susan Schwab, the president’s nominee to follow Rob Portman as US Trade Representative. “We’re getting to the point in the negotiations where people have to put their cards on the table,” said Mr Hafemeister. He said that the US was willing to be flexible but had to see movement by other trading partners, especially Europe. "It's true that Europe really is going to have to set the standard. We can't expect developing countries to cut their tariffs deeper than the European Union. That's why everybody is focussed on Europe," he said.

Further talks are due to be held in June, with a target of the end of July for an agreement. This deadline is seen as particularly important, because if the Doha Round, which began in 2001, is not completed by the end of this year it will be threatened by the expiry in mid-2007 of the fast-track trade negotiation mandate given by Congress to the President. Nobody thinks that the current fractious Congress will renew it.

Earlier this month, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, said that finding consensus in the Doha Round negotiations “remains doable, but only if a sense of urgency—which I feel is not always shared by all—starts appearing in each and every delegation”. “We must now focus our efforts on working intensively, continuously and in an effective manner on a text-based negotiating process, which is solidly anchored in Geneva”, he added.

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