Schwab Says US Is Committed In Reviving WTO Talks To Improve Global Trade
United States Trade Representative, Susan Schwab said that the US is determined to press ahead with attempts of restarting the World Trade Organization talks that has been completely prostrated last July 24.
The meeting held in Geneva, collapsed on Monday suspending five years of worldwide effort to alleviate poverty in developing nations through free global trade.
Since 2001, WTO members have argued on how to achieve the goals set at a conference in Doha, Qatar.
The main aim of the Doha meeting is to bring the advantages of greater global trade to the world's poorest countries.
Schwab did not give an exact date when the Doha meeting will commence again.
She simply stated that the meeting is not yet dead, instead it is just suffering under serious dilemma.
She also added that she'll do anything she can to have the meeting achieve a desired conclusion or outcome for the free global trade issue.
The US and the European Union have given more market access to the world's impoverished countries, and there was a bright future that the framework for the final deal could possibly be reached by the end of April this year.
However, hopes were bogged down especially in key global trade areas like agriculture.
Major agricultural exporters wanted the EU, US, and Japan to open their markets fully through cutting on their farm subsidiaries and tariffs.
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandela accused the US for inflexibility and for not offering sufficient cuts on its agricultural subsidies.
On the other hand, US blamed (EU) that it has failed to equalize concessions about the agricultural subsidies.
On the other side of the talks, both union and other developing countries wanted nations such as Brazil and India with growing trade powers, to become more open in accepting imported industrial services and goods.
Business experts said the collapse of the talks will only make the global trade more cumbersome and costly for poor and underdeveloped countries.
With companies and governments struggling with separate rules for different countries, the Doha agenda would not have much progress, unless these countries come back and agree on moving forward.
Developing nations who are eager to sell their goods overseas missed a good opportunity to intensify economic growth due to the failed meeting.
The gap between the EU and the US, according to Schwab, was bitter, and it would likely take a significant amount of time to rouse the meeting.
To salvage the Doha Agenda, Schwab is committed to get a deal done.
Also, she's planning to look for ways to revive the said meeting in future conferences of global trade leaders and at the convention that Bush will be attending with Asia Pacific countries.
Schwab also announced that she will travel to Brazil and other countries as the first exploratory step towards reviving the WTO's stalled Doha Round trade conference.
She also disclosed that she'll be speaking with Mandela in the near future despite the latter's complaints and comments against the US agricultural subsidies.
She added that the arguments in the global trade negotiation is not personal.
The meeting held in Geneva, collapsed on Monday suspending five years of worldwide effort to alleviate poverty in developing nations through free global trade.
Since 2001, WTO members have argued on how to achieve the goals set at a conference in Doha, Qatar.
The main aim of the Doha meeting is to bring the advantages of greater global trade to the world's poorest countries.
Schwab did not give an exact date when the Doha meeting will commence again.
She simply stated that the meeting is not yet dead, instead it is just suffering under serious dilemma.
She also added that she'll do anything she can to have the meeting achieve a desired conclusion or outcome for the free global trade issue.
The US and the European Union have given more market access to the world's impoverished countries, and there was a bright future that the framework for the final deal could possibly be reached by the end of April this year.
However, hopes were bogged down especially in key global trade areas like agriculture.
Major agricultural exporters wanted the EU, US, and Japan to open their markets fully through cutting on their farm subsidiaries and tariffs.
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandela accused the US for inflexibility and for not offering sufficient cuts on its agricultural subsidies.
On the other hand, US blamed (EU) that it has failed to equalize concessions about the agricultural subsidies.
On the other side of the talks, both union and other developing countries wanted nations such as Brazil and India with growing trade powers, to become more open in accepting imported industrial services and goods.
Business experts said the collapse of the talks will only make the global trade more cumbersome and costly for poor and underdeveloped countries.
With companies and governments struggling with separate rules for different countries, the Doha agenda would not have much progress, unless these countries come back and agree on moving forward.
Developing nations who are eager to sell their goods overseas missed a good opportunity to intensify economic growth due to the failed meeting.
The gap between the EU and the US, according to Schwab, was bitter, and it would likely take a significant amount of time to rouse the meeting.
To salvage the Doha Agenda, Schwab is committed to get a deal done.
Also, she's planning to look for ways to revive the said meeting in future conferences of global trade leaders and at the convention that Bush will be attending with Asia Pacific countries.
Schwab also announced that she will travel to Brazil and other countries as the first exploratory step towards reviving the WTO's stalled Doha Round trade conference.
She also disclosed that she'll be speaking with Mandela in the near future despite the latter's complaints and comments against the US agricultural subsidies.
She added that the arguments in the global trade negotiation is not personal.
