CHINA: Delegates to world trade talks struggle to reach deal with 24 hours to go before the meeting closes.

Record ID: 858775

  • Title: CHINA: Delegates to world trade talks struggle to reach deal with 24 hours to go before the meeting closes.
  • Date: 17th December 2005
  • Summary: SECURITY
  • Embargoed: 1st January 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • City:
  • Country: China
  • Topics:
  • Reuters ID: LVAE3CH57VJCJDUOYKPAQYDMC9VO
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  • Story Text: World Trade talks remained deadlocked on Saturday (December 17) over farm subsidies and plans to bolster the exports of poorest nations. The United States put a brave face on the floundering talks in Hong Kong, hoping for a minimal accord in order to call the meeting a success and keep alive hopes of sealing a deal on a new global trade treaty early next year.
    "We have within our grasp in the next 24 hours the possibility of a very significant package of measures, decisions I should say, that would move us forward in meeting our objectives of unleashing the power of trade for development in the form of a successful Doha agreement at the end of next year, so the potential is there, as I said, it is just beyond our fingertips," said U.S. Deputy Trade Representative, Peter Allgeier.
    But there appears to be no agreement on setting a date for ending farm export subsidies because of resistance from the European Union.
    The EU says the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand must agree to reforms of their farm export systems first.
    The United States was still resisting demands in Hong Kong to give duty-free and quota-free access to some goods from many of the world's least-developed countries.
    U.N. High Representative for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) warned that a failure to open up markets would throw the whole credibility of the round into question.
    "If nothing is agreed on the LDC package it will give a very wrong message that the negotiators have been so self-centred that they have forgotten the weakest part of the international community and also it will have an effect on the credibility of the WTO mechanism to (bring) the benefits of liberalisation and free trade to the poorest."
    "To be free, trade must be also be fair. Without that, I think it is meaningless to get into this complex set of negotiations," said Anwarul K. Chowdhury, the U.N. High Representative for the Least Developed Countries.
    About 100 South Korean protesters shouted "Shame on the EU" outside the building housing the EU consulate and thousands were expected to stage an anti-free trade protest later in the day.
    Police beefed up patrols after warnings by Korean protesters that they planned more aggressive demonstrations before the WTO talks end on Sunday.
    One protest leader said they had brought their demonstration to the EU because of their opposition to EU support for a deal on services.
    "We have come here because the European Union is the one strongly pushing for an agreement on services, so we have come here to show them we will strongly protest and struggle if the EU continues to push the negotiations on services," said a South Korean protest leader.
    Workers outside the U.S. consulate on Saturday cleaned-up after Korean protesters spray-painted anti-WTO slogans on the walls.
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