WTO members concluded three days of talks without healing a rift over agricultural tariffs and subsidies which threatens efforts to liberalize global trade.
"There was a huge divergence of views" on agricultural trade, said Japan's foreign minister, Yoriko Kawaguchi, after the meeting in Tokyo ended.
Twenty-two WTO members earlier rejected the Geneva-based organization's latest proposal to lower import tariffs on agricultural products and cut farm subsidies as a basis for fresh talks because the European Commission, Japan and other members objected. But the US side said the proposal doesn't go far enough.
PHOTO: AFP
They instead agreed the proposal from Stuart Harbinson, chairman of the WTO agriculture negotiating committee, would be a "catalyst" for further discussion.
"Japan needs to face the reality," US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said.
Its farmers make up 2 percent of the economy and 1.8 percent of the population, he said.
WTO members have until the end of next month to decide on a framework for an accord on agricultural trade. A wider agreement on lowering trade barriers to products ranging from industrial equipment to financial services worth an estimated US$700 billion over a decade must be concluded by Jan. 2005. All 145 WTO members meet in Cancun, Mexico in September.
Harbinson has to draft a revised proposal by March that satisfies both food exporters such as Australia and Brazil, who want more access to overseas markets in return for easing duties on other products, and the EU and Japan that want to protect their farmers from cheaper foreign produce.
"The US stands with exporting countries. I think we are going to face a few bumps on the road [to Cancun] because not all major countries are ready to move on agriculure," Zoellick said.
The rejected draft called for a 50 percent cut in export subsidies within five years of a WTO agreement, and their elimination within nine years. It also proposed a cut of as much as 60 percent in all forms of subsidies the WTO allows to farmers and a 25 percent to 60 percent cut in import tariffs. Japan imposes a 490 percent levy on imported rice.
The Tokyo meeting also failed to reach agreement on allowing poor countries access to cheap drugs and WTO members have still to find a way to resolve the issue.
Delegates exchanged views regarding US opposition to allowing poorer countries to import generic versions of lifesaving medicines in violation of patents. The US says that under current proposals, there would be no way to prevent the cheaper drugs from being re-sold for profit.
The US blocked an accord in December on the grounds that it might enable generic drugmakers to ignore patents held by companies including Pfizer Inc and Merch & Co on drugs outside public-health crises, such as those to treat obesity or cancer.
Representatives from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Egypt, the EU, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, Lesotho, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Senegal, Singapore, Switzerland and the US attended the gathering.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a