The Hindu Business Line : Doha Round: Consensus not `developing'

TRADE talks continue to teeter even amid the mellow ambiance of wood-panelled walls and the luxuriously carpeted floor of India House, where delegates met informally over lunch to reach a "strategic consensus" for possible success of the Doha Round of global trade negotiations, just five weeks before the scheduled summit talks of WTO trade ministers in Hong Kong on December 17 and 18.

Trade powers of the developed and developing world continue playing the blame game. As one observer put it: "At the core of the stalled talks is a spaghetti bowl of conflicting demands". Much of the blame is placed on the European Union, generally, and France, in particular, for not relenting on the traditional farm protection policies that ensure European farmers remain happy and prosperous.

For most European politicians the "farmer's vote" is crucial to their political survival, and their global trade strategy is to ensure that agricultural produce from the developing world does not get automatic access to the European and North American markets.

Politicians on both sides of the "free trade" fence have deployed the correct rhetoric to argue their points of view to lower or sustain indefinitely most sensitive trade barriers. This even suggests that the four-year-old Doha Round may be at a breaking point. Obviously, such a grim and depressing scenario is not acceptable to anybody, and hence the almost overwhelming struggle to reach a consensus.

The Group of Ten (G-10), which comprises the more affluent and developed producers of agricultural products, are cautiously offering minor concessions to protected farm sectors. In return, they are seeking "unqualified" access to developing markets for their manufactured goods. Brazil is the leader of richer developing nations, comprising India, China, South Africa and even Nigeria. So far, Brazil has refused to offer any tariff concessions for free entry of manufactured goods from the developed countries to the markets of the EU and the US. India is not offering any cuts in its farm tariffs and this perception is partly shared by Brazil, China and South Africa.

Following Monday night's meeting of the five global economic powers — the US, the EU, Brazil, India and Japan — Trade Ministers from the developed world are meeting in Geneva on Thursday in search of a consensus to put global trade talks on track.

The World Trade Organisation Director-General, Mr Pascal Lamy, will meet trade delegations on the issue of liberating policies in politically sensitive sectors to ensure a smooth outcome of global trade talks in Hong Kong.

The heart of the matter is how the developed world responds to the demands for cuts in farm tariffs.

The developed world has a relatively smooth access for their manufactured goods in the global market place and it remains to be seen what more the developing world can do to seek "smooth and free" access for their agricultural produce in the markets of the EU and the US.

It is also ironical to note that the Western nations are desperately fighting to consolidate their access to global markets and the parameters and scale of tariff reduction and market access could be decided by 147 members of WTO at their Hong Kong meeting on December 17 and 18.

The EU Trade Minister (Commissioner), Mr Peter Mandelson, has called for a "balanced approach" as India and Brazil argue for deeper cuts in farm subsidies by richer nations.

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