Who will blink first at WTO? Not us, says US

WASHINGTON: The US is committed to reaching a new world trade deal but won’t try to revive the talks by being the first to make a new agricultural offer, the top US trade official said on Tuesday. US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said that Washington was still waiting for other countries to match the ’bold’ proposal the US made one year ago this month to cut farm subsidies and tariffs.

The EU, in particular, has urged the US to make a new offer to cut its domestic farm subsidies to help revive the world trade talks. The negotiations were put on ice in July after leading countries again failed to agree on a package of farm trade reforms.

The Doha round of world trade talks was launched almost five years ago with the goal of helping poor countries prosper through trade. The talks also cover industrial goods and services in addition to agriculture.

After the collapse three months ago in Geneva, “we’re in the resuscitation stage of the Doha round agreement. It is down, but it is not out,” Schwab said.

The way forward is through ’quiet conversations’ where countries can explore scenarios for cutting farm subsidies and tariffs, which are politically sensitive in most countries, Schwab said. “EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson was here last week ... and I’m not going to tell you what we talked about. Suffice it to say it was a healthy dialogue,” Schwab said.

Some experts believe there is a narrow window of opportunity for a breakthrough in the talks between the November 7 US congressional elections and early next year when the Bush administration would need to begin pushing for renewal of trade promotion authority. That legislation, which expires in July ’07, is considered essential for US participation in world trade talks.

It allows the White House to negotiate agreements that Congress can approve or reject but not change.

Democrats could refuse to give US President George W Bush the authority if — as many political observers expect — they win control of one or more houses of Congress in the election, but Schwab took a more optimistic view.