Zoellick denies war favoritism

A soldier from the 82nd Airborne Brigade walks in the grounds of the newly re-opened Baghdad amusement park on Tuesday. The park, the only one of its kind in the Iraqi capital, was shut down during the war. While the US struggles to restore basic necessities to Iraq, many nations assert that it is punishing opponents of the conflict by withholding trade privileges. PHOTO: AFP

The US is not looking to impose trade barriers against countries that did not back its war on Iraq, but political differences with trading partners cannot be totally ignored, Washington's top trade official has said.

"The United States is very committed to trying to promote free trade ... regionally and bilaterally," US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said in an interview late Tuesday.

At the same time, trade is part of the overall relationship with a country, especially since trade agreements have to be approved by the US Congress, Zoellick noted.

"In some particular cases we have to assess how it affects the overall environment in the US particularly when we have to bring back agreements to the Congress," he said.

"We are going to have differences with countries. That's not a surprise or anything to be denied. And ... when we look at relationships with countries, we have to take into account the full set of relations," he said.

Zoellick was in the northeastern Thai town of Khon Kaen for a two-day meeting of trade ministers and officials of the 21-member APEC forum, which ended Tuesday.

The US' recent conclusion of a free trade agreement pact with Singapore was seen as an example of the inclination of the administration of US President George W. Bush to reward countries that supported its war on Iraq.

However, Zoellick cited the case of Chile, with which it will sign a free trade agreement on June 6. Chile did not back the war.

Zoellick said even though the US' greatest disagreement on the war in Iraq was with France and Germany, he had spent fruitful business talks in Germany last month.

"And my message in Europe was, let's find areas of mutual interest to try to work together," he said.

Zoellick also said he was encouraged by EU Commissioner Pascal Lamy's proposals on agricultural reforms to end the EU's disagreement with the US over agricultural subsidies.

"There are increasing signs that the [EU] member states would accept some proposals," he said.

Agriculture is the most contentious issue in the WTO's three-year round of trade talks running through next year.

The US has set ambitious goals to liberalize farm trade and wants the EU to stop giving subsidies to its farmers. The EU has asked for a more gradual approach in ending the subsidies.

"Trade negotiations need to be win-win ventures. It is not one side wins and the other side loses. We have to do it in a way that shows prospects of benefits for everybody," he said.

Zoellick also said "it is certainly possible" that the US and Thailand will enter into negotiations to discuss a free trade agreement, similar to the one with Singapore.

Asked if the negotiations could begin by next year, he said: "That's a good possibility if we continue to make progress."

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is scheduled to travel to the US this month, has said he expects progress on the issue after he meets with Bush.

But Zoellick warned that Thailand should understand that a free trade agreement means a total integration of economies and not just freeing up a few sectors.

"When we talk about free trade agreement we really mean it," he said.