Brussels, 18/07/2006 (Agence Europe) - The day after the appeal from G8 heads of state and government at the Saint Petersburg Summit for a compromise to be found on liberalisation modalities in trade in agriculture and manufactured goods (NAMA) “within a month”, the negotiators from the main trading nations in the WTO, meeting in Geneva on Monday evening as the G6 (Australia, Brazil, United States, India, Japan, European Union) with Director General Pascal Lamy , decided on a new timetable to give fresh impetus to Doha negotiations. After the meeting, the Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim and the Indian trade minister Kamal Nath told press that the content of the negotiations had not been discussed, only the procedure to enable a compromise on modalities to be reached in the next few weeks. Two further G6 meetings have been scheduled for 23-23 July and 28-29 July, in the hope that negotiations can be concluded before the end of the year.
Pascal Lamy calls for political courage from enlarged G8
Earlier in the afternoon, G8 leaders met their counterparts from the major emerging countries (South Africa, China, India, Brazil and Mexico) to discuss world trade, and in particular to try to give political impetus to the still deadlocked Doha negotiations. Mr Lamy, who is holding intensive consultations at the highest level with each of the major players in the Round, told the “enlarged” G8 that the markers that had been put down did not allow a “landing zone” to be identified on the three sections of a compromise: reduction of US domestic subsidies, access to the EU agricultural market and lower customs duties on NAMA in the emerging countries. Mr Lamy said the positions had to be brought closer together, and, for that to happen, there had to be greater latitude for ministers to negotiate. He added, “I am not ignoring your internal political problems, but I ask you to consider the risks of failure” of the Round. Failure, he said would send “a very negative signal on the future of the world economy and on the risks of a resurgence in protectionism … at a time of increased geo-political instability”.
Lula promises to be more flexible, Chirac thinks he has conceded enough
“What is at stake, is not a handful of concessions, it is the whole future of multilateralism,” Brazilian President Lula da Silva told G8 leaders. Outstripping his peers, Lula said he was “ready to give (his) minister responsible for the negotiations (Mr Amorim) instructions and demonstrate the necessary flexibility to find an ambitious and balanced outcome to the negotiating round”. “I would expect my colleagues gathered here to do the same,” he added. French President Jacques Chirac was less enthusiastic. Saying he also wanted an “ambitious and realistic” agreement, on Sunday Mr Chirac called on everyone to make an effort. “Only Europe has moved … up now to the others to do something, and first of all the United States, by significantly reducing domestic subsidies and effectively removing export aid,” he insisted. On Monday, President Chirac again showed himself little inclined to change the negotiating brief given to trade commissioner Peter Mandelson by the EU Council. “He represents the Twenty Five all together, and it is up to them alone to make any potential extra step by way of concessions,” he said, adding, “European concessions have already been generous … and, in my opinion, they can no longer be justified the way things stand”.
Bush signals opening, confidence restored among European leader
The Financial Times of 18 July says that several officials present at the Saint Petersburg meeting had spoken of indications of opening from American President George W Bush during the closed sessions at the Summit. The FT adds that, according to several sources, Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the President of the Italian Council Romano Prodi” all struck optimistic notes” over the determination shown by the G8 to conclude the round before the end of the year. However, the FT stresses, during the G6 meeting in Geneva on Monday evening, there was “little explicit sign of concessions” from two of the major players in the round, the United States and India, the former reiterating their strong demands on access to agricultural markets, the latter insisting on its right to protect its small farmers by exempting them from too heavy tariff cuts.