Deputy ministers from 34 nations in the Americas failed to reach agreement on Friday on a framework for the Free Trade Area of the Americas, unable to overcome differences on the contentious issue of US farm subsidies.
After four days of meetings in this colonial city 105km southeast of Mexico's capital, South American countries accused the US of failing to yield any ground on subsidies, while US officials said hopes for the once-ambitious accord may have to be scaled back yet again.
"The negotiations have reached an impasse ... we have not agreed on any text," said Argentine negotiator Martin Redrado.
The talks in Puebla followed November meetings in Miami when negotiators came up with an outline for an accord that was dubbed "FTAA-lite," a two-tier approach in which all countries would sign on to basic trade rules, while those that chose to could open their markets further.
The failure of this round of Puebla talks -- negotiators plan to take one more try at a renewed round of negotiations here in early March -- led to fears that the pact could become what critics called "FTAA Ultra-Lite," an agreement largely devoid of substance.
"There will have to be some modifications in positions, some re-calibration in contents and levels of ambition," said Peter Allgeier, US co-chair of the talks.
World Trade Organization talks in Cancun collapsed in September over the same farm-subsidies issue, and some activists called the Puebla talks "a new Cancun."
In the Puebla talks, the Mercosur nations -- led by Brazil and Argentina -- demanded measures like compensatory tariffs to protect their markets from the price effects of domestic US farm payments. US officials insist the farm topic should be negotiated within the WTO.
The Mercosur countries did drop twin demands for an end to all farm subsidies, and a 15-year phase-out of tariffs on all products. They reportedly offered to allow tariff or quota protections for about 10 percent of goods, something the US had wanted.
But any Mercosur concessions on that and other US proposals -- such as intellectual property protection, investment openings and government purchasing rules -- are likely to be withdrawn because of the subsidies impasse.
"This is not a new Cancun, because [the negotiation process] will continue," Redrado said.
But referring to main sticking points, Redrado said without an agreement on agriculture -- and implicitly a US agreement to abandon most farm subsidies -- there would be no FTAA.
Allgeier countered that "there were many sticking points."
The Puebla talks had been intended to flesh out the Miami two-tier proposal, by setting a framework and timetable for more specific negotiations on second-tier issues. However, the talks were not able to get past the first level of basic issues.
"We see this as a failure for them," activist Alberto Arroyo of the Continental Social Alliance said of the talks. "This is very similar to what happened in Cancun, as regards agriculture."
Both Mercosur and the US-led block of 14 nations accused each other of failing to make concessions.
"Some [progress] has been made on our side, but none on the US side," Redrado said.
Mexican negotiator Angel Villalobos of the US-led block countered that Mercosur was inflexible.
"The Group of 14 has been very flexible" in its demands, Villalobos said. "Mercosur is being very ambitious about agriculture."
Despite the lack of a final agreement, negotiators did decide to stick to their 2005 deadline for a final accord, and agreed that smaller, less-developed countries would need special help in order to compete in a hemispheric pact.
Agricultural subsidies have been a sticking point in free trade negotiations around the globe. The Mercosur nations say subsidies rob their dynamic farm sectors of foreign markets and make their own farmers unable to compete domestically.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese