Asia-Pacific trade ministers yesterday called for urgent action to break an impasse over stalled global trade talks.
Ministers from the 21-member APEC forum had gathered in Ho Chi Minh City to focus on how to jumpstart the Doha round of WTO negotiations, which have recently become bogged down with disagreements on tariffs and subsidies.
"Urgent action is needed to drive the process," particularly in the areas of market access on agriculture negotiations, according to a joint statement released by APEC ministers at the end of the two-day meeting. They urged WTO members scheduled to meet in Geneva this month to reach agreement on formulas for tariffs and subsidies by the end of June.
Critical stage
Timing has reached a critical stage after WTO members missed a key deadline in April that would have set up a conclusion to the Doha talks by the end of the year.
By July next year, US President George W. Bush loses his "fast-track" authority to strike trade deals that the US Congress cannot amend, which would potentially scuttle a global trade pact.
US Trade Representative-designate Susan Schwab said the 149 WTO members need to achieve a breakthrough on agriculture market access.
"This has everything to do with political will. The emphasis in this statement on market access is right on target. A successful outcome on market access is key to a successful Doha round," she said.
Schwab said APEC members, who account for nearly half of global trade, have a "clear recognition of the importance to all our economies of a successful outcome."
The global WTO talks aim to boost the global economy and lift millions of people out of poverty worldwide by lowering trade barriers across all sectors, with an emphasis on poorer nations.
Disagreements
But the negotiations have been mired in disagreements between the US and the EU, and demands from poorer developing countries that rich nations do much more to open up their farm markets.
In the statement, APEC members reaffirmed their commitment to a multilateral trading system and to concluding by year's end this round of global trade talks, begun in 2001 in Qatar.
"The [Doha] round offers so much potential benefit for global trade, economic growth and development by delivering concrete results that expand trade flows," it said. "We commit ourselves to summon the necessary political will to conclude the negotiations with an ambitious and balanced outcome across the board and we call on all other parties to do likewise."
APEC members also said that they would contribute to breaking the logjam by agreeing to make cuts in agriculture domestic support, eliminating export subsidies by 2013, and working on improving market access.
Vietnam will be hosting the APEC summit from Nov. 12-19.
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