Schwab Comments Before WTO Trade Negotiations Committee

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

31 July 2008

US Ambassador, Susan C. Schwab, spoke out on Thursday before the WTO Trade Negotiations Committee in response to the failure by international trade ministers to agree at the recent world trade talks in Geneva.

“This is not a time for long speeches but rather is a time for reflection. And certainly not a time for name calling but for constructive leadership. So my remarks today will be brief," Schwab told the Committee on Wednesday.

“In the coming weeks and months, there naturally will be a lot of soul searching about the process; could we have been more successful if the process had been different in one way or another?" she asked.

The latest set of trade talks of the Doha round broke off earlier this week with ministers unable to agree a common position on the special safeguard mechanism for developing countries. Some countries wanted a high “trigger” (a large import surge needed to trigger the tariff increase) in order to avoid the safeguard being triggered by normal trade growth, while others wanted a lower trigger so that the safeguard could be easier to use and more useful.

Schwab went on to tell the Committee that:

"There is always room for improvement in managing a process. But we cannot lose focus on the substance. The difficulties that frustrated our efforts over the past ten days did not hinge on process, but rather on the substance.

"We faced some very difficult and complex issues of vital importance to the Membership that did not readily lend themselves to traditional 'split-the-difference' solutions or 'lowest common denominator' solutions.

"To get back on the path to success, we all will need to think hard about how we tackle these issues," she added, going on to conclude:

“Finally, let me assure everyone in this hall that the United States remains fully committed to the mission of the WTO as the foundation of the rules-based multilateral trading system, and to multilateral negotiations. None of us can afford any diminution in this organization’s role as the guardian of a progressively liberalizing trading system based on non-discrimination and fair play for all.

"It also is the centerpiece in our efforts to bring the developing countries increasingly into the global economy on terms that enable them to benefit fully from the opportunities created by international trade."

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