Brussels, 26/02/2007 (Agence Europe) - Differences over the agricultural chapter of Doha talks remain too substantial for the multilateral process to be resumed in Geneva, where discussions will continue at bilateral and plurilateral level, said Crawford Falconer, Chairman of the WTO Farm Talks Committee. The New Zealand ambassador at the WTO nonetheless called for talks to be resumed in “coming weeks rather than coming months” and gave his assurance that he would soon be putting forward a new compromise text on arrangements in agriculture. Furthermore, according to a source familiar with the dossier, the Cairns Group (Australia, Canada and New Zealand) are preparing a document on sensitive products and tropical products while the G-20 emerging countries are developing a text setting out their position for the new phase in talks without, however, making any new proposals. Also, the treatment of sensitive products (developed countries) and special products (developing countries) continues to be the subject of divergence between these two groups of countries. During the last meeting of the farm talks committee last week, the Indian representative objected to exceptions for sensitive products being placed on the same footing as special products. Furthermore, representatives of the G-4 (Union, United States, Brazil and India) met “secretly” last week in London to seek to bring their views closer together regarding figures in a compromise concerning the reduction in agricultural tariffs and domestic subsidies, with a view to an agreement in April or May.
WTO Director General Pascal Lamy, who was on visit to Manilla on 23 February, called for a breakthrough in talks «by July». If no progress is made by the time the American (fast track) negotiating brief reaches expiry at the end of June, then, he said, “we shall be back to where we were before” the failure last July, he warned. Saying that the «basic model» for a compromise on terms and conditions in agriculture and on Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) was “already established” and that all that was left now was to reach agreement over the exact figures, Mr Lamy confirmed that the G-4 countries were holding discreet consultation to achieve this.
Finally, speaking through the voice of its trade minister, Australia again criticised the negotiating tactics of Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, accused by Warren Truss as seeking to “build a coalition of countries not interested in trade reform to push an unacceptable deal onto Australia”. Mr Truss said Mandelson's latest offer of a 50% maximum farm tariff cut “doesn't touch at all key [Australian] products like dairy, lamb, beef, sugar … and doesn't go anywhere near far enough”. “I am concerned that he may be seeking to develop a coalition of support [with some developing country groupings] around a relatively poor outcome”, Mr Truss told the daily, Financial Australian Review of 20 February, before going on to conclude: “I think he's trying to get together all those countries that really don't want to make any real contributions” to the Round. (eh)