[It appears that the issue raised by India as regards food subsidy has been kept (at least partially) open, to be further negotiated later. The "deal" in order to materialise has somewhat bypassed the issue. It also appears that India had really no support on the issue in the negotiations. The other developing countries including China were on the other side of the fence. That made things further difficult for it.
Some difficulties, posed mainly by Cuba, it appears, still remain.] http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/wto-edges-closer-to-deal-on-bali-package-100783.html?hp=l3 WTO close to $1T trade deal in Bali By DOUG PALMER <http://www.politico.com/reporters/DougPalmer.html> | 12/6/13 10:53 AM EST *Pro Trade in Asia: This story is part of “Pro Trade in Asia,” POLITICO Pro’s on-the-ground series covering the WTO ministerial meeting and the TPP negotiations. * *BALI, Indonesia *— The World Trade Organization on Friday neared a deal on global reforms to speed up and ease barriers to international trade after a breakthrough on concerns about India’s food security plans that have threatened to derail the pact. “The reception for this text was enormously favorable,” WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell told reporters about the reaction of trade ministers who have searched all week for a deal at the group’s ministerial conference in Bali. However, the possibility remained that Cuba and some of its allies in Latin America could try to block the agreement because it does not ease the longtime U.S. economic embargo on the Communist-run island. A deal would be the first membership-wide agreement in the 18-year history of the WTO and a victory for new Director General Roberto Azevedo, who took office Sept. 1 and has worked feverishly since then to craft an agreement. The trade facilitation package, which WTO officials say could increase world economic output by as much as $1 trillion when fully implemented, also would be a shot in the arm for the world economy and the credibility of the world trade body. “It would be a hell of signal of confidence if they’ve shown after 12 years governments can work together and agree on something useful,” said Jean-Guy Carrier, secretary general of the International Chamber of Commerce, referring to the Doha round of world trade talks, which was launched in 2001 and remains unconcluded. Trade ministers were given the text late Friday after four days of intense consultations led by Azevedo, who prodded WTO members to get back in the game of negotiating trade agreements at a time when the interests of big players like the United States and the European Union have shifted to regional free trade agreements. A major issue was India’s push for a change in the rule that would allow developing countries to increase farm subsidies to help build stocks for public food security programs. The new text provides a stronger commitment that a negotiated solution to the problem will be found and stronger safeguards against trade-distorting effects of the programs will be put in place, Rockwell said. U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma were on opposites sides of the issue all week, but were “embracing each other” at the meeting where the text was released, he said. Azevedo and many others this week warned a failure to reach a deal could mean the death of trade negotiations at the WTO, which is the only avenue that most poor countries have for trade talks “What’s at stake is the ability for this institution to support growth and development, the contribution we make to the lives of people on the streets around the world. What’s at stake is the cause of multilateralism itself,” Azevedo said on Tuesday in a speech to members. The biggest element of the “Bali package” is a trade facilitation agreement that would make it easier and cheaper to move goods around the world by cutting red tape and improving customs procedures. Besides boosting trade, the pact could reduce corruption by eliminating opportunities for customs officials to extract bribes to get goods across borders. The Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economic has estimated an ambitious trade facilitation pact could boost global economic output $1 trillion and create more than 21 million jobs, most of those in the developing world. The binding agreement requires countries to implement reforms in a number of areas, but allows them to decide how quickly to do that and promises technical assistance from rich countries for the more challenging commitments. Cuba has pushed for provisions that would ease the longtime U.S. economic embargo as part of the trade facilitation package. The deal also includes agriculture provisions encouraging the elimination of export subsidies and better administration of tariff-rate quotas. The new quota rules are intended to encourage more imports under the quotas, but the United States is expected to opt out because the requirements would not apply to large developing countries such as China. The development provisions includes measures to help African countries increase cotton production, to encourage developed countries to eliminate quotas and duties on imports from least-developed countries and to lower barriers to services companies from least-developed countries. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
