Brussels, 09/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in Washington on Monday, Commission President José Manuel Barroso and US President George W. Bush were optimistic about the possibility of reactivating the Doha multilateral trade talks that have been suspended since July 2006 due to the deadlock over agriculture. No formal commitment was reached but new promises were made. “We are really at a defining moment. We had a very good exchange, and we gave instructions to all negotiators to come up with a solution as soon as possible”, Barroso told the press after the meeting. “And of course it is important to engage others also, because this is a real global agreement that we are trying to build”, he added. At this stage, however, before envisaging an agricultural compromise at the G-6 (EU, USA, Brazil, India, Australia and Japan) that would bring the talks out of deadlock, the Europeans and the Americans hold the key to the talks. The US president said: “We talked about the importance for Europe and the United States to resolve any differences we have when it comes to the Doha round for trade, so that we can promote international trade”.
Also meeting in Washington were Peter Mandelson and Susan Schwab, European and American negotiators respectively, who gave their assurance that they would be stepping up their efforts to break through the deadlock in coming weeks before the crucial meeting of around thirty trade ministers on the fringe of the Davos Forum on 24-28 January this year. “We came to Washington today looking for new impetus for the Doha negotiations and I believe we found it”, the EU Trade Commissioner was pleased to point out, speaking of “fresh hope”. The meeting with the representatives of the new Democrat majority in Congress - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the leader of the Democrat majority in Senate Harry Reid - gave Mandelson the impression that an agreement was “feasible” (for the Europeans, in fact, it was a matter of making sure that the Democrats do not take Congress along the protectionist road) and that it can be reached within the tight negotiating schedule. Time is running short for two reasons: - the negotiating brief granted to the US Administration, the Trade Promotion Authority, expires at the end of June this year; - and the Commission trusts that Washington will make a gesture before the presentation, in March, of the next agricultural law, the Farm Bill.
On Monday, Europeans and Americans were not able to announce an agricultural compromise on specific figures. However, according to Peter Mandelson, there is certainly a better understanding and convergence between the two sides. Susan Schwab sounded a note of caution, saying: “Obviously the United States and the EU are committed to seeking a successful conclusion to the Doha Round. Sooner is better, but the content will dictate over chronology”. At this stage, data remains the same when it comes to content. The expected agricultural content is still based on the reduction of up to an average of 51.5% in European farm tariffs that the Union is willing to agree to, and a reduction in US domestic farm subsidies, that the Commission hopes to see reduced within an annual ceiling from $23 to 15 billion. (eh)