Home>News Center>China
       
 

Last-minute deal breathes new life into WTO trade talks
By Liu Weiling and Dai Yan (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-12-19 05:20

HONG KONG: After six days of marathon bargaining, exhausted trade negotiators reached a last-minute but modest deal yesterday to avert a collapse in global free trade talks and developing countries tasted the power of solidarity.

Escorted by security officials, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy leaves the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center after an overnight meeting Sunday, Dec. 18, 2005. The last-minute negotiations at the WTO summit were focused on whether delegates could agree on a date to end export subsidies, with developing nations saying a deal had been struck while the European Union said there still was no agreement. (AP
Escorted by security officers, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy leaves the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center after an overnight meeting Sunday, Dec. 18, 2005. The last-minute negotiations at the WTO summit were focused on whether delegates could agree on a date to end export subsidies, with developing nations saying a deal had been struck while the European Union said there still was no agreement. [AP]

The 150 WTO members approved the Ministerial Declaration last night against a backdrop of protests by thousands of anti-WTO demonstrators near the convention venue.

The agreement reflected moderate progress on agriculture the most contentious issue of the talks and steps forward in other areas such as services, non-agricultural market access and aid for trade.

The wealthy countries agreed they would eliminate farm export subsidies by 2013, according to the declaration.

Although the date is three years later than the original proposal of 2010, a substantial part of the subsidy cuts will be realized by the end of the first half of the implementation, which, according to Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, refers to 2010.

Peter Mandelson, the European Union trade commissioner who had been under fire for unwilling to set an end date for farm export subsidies until Saturday, called the deal "a genuine advance for the agriculture negotiations and for the development goals of the Doha Round."

On cotton, an issue of wide concern to African nations, the ministers agreed that all forms of export subsidies will be eliminated by developed countries in 2006.

Meanwhile, developed countries will give duty- and quota-free access to cotton exporters from least-developed countries from the commencement of the implementation period.

The revised text also sets April 30, 2006, as a new deadline to work out formulas for cutting farm and industrial tariffs and subsidies - a key step towards forging a sweeping global free trade treaty by the end of next year.

The progress achieved yesterday, according to Deputy US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, laid a platform for successful negotiations in many other areas in the future.

The deal has put the Doha round back on track, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said at the closing ceremony last night. "We are heading in the right direction now."

Schwab said the US is comfortable with the text in the declaration, but "this is not a finished negotiation," and there will be further discussions in Geneva or other places in the next few months to conclude the Doha negotiations launched in the capital of Qatar in 2001 before the end of next year.

There is a new political energy to speed up the talks, Lamy said. "There is no time to rest."

Zhang Xiangchen, director of WTO Affairs Department of the Ministry of Commerce, said China is pleased to see the meeting achieve positive results, but sticking points remain in future negotiations and need to be addressed with alacrity.

Celso Amorim, representing the G20 group of developing countries, said he would qualify the agreement as "modest, but not insignificant." He told a news conference: "I think it's a fair compromise."

India's Trade Minister Kamal Nath said the deal focuses on various problems faced by developing countries, adding the strategy to forge a grand alliance of 110 developing countries had paid off. "G20 has become a major voice for yes or no," he said.

"The biggest message that we send out of this Hong Kong conference is that developing countries have been able to articulate together in one voice their concerns and developed countries need to look at this change in talks on the future of global trade," he said.

Yet there were plenty of people dissatisfied with the result. The African Cotton Producers Organization, for example, complained that the deal didn't touch on the elimination of trade-distorting domestic subsidies of developed countries.

(China Daily 12/19/2005 page1)



Supermarket on fire in Hunan
Big day for Basi, the giant panda
Ice sculptures in Urumqi
  Today's Top News     Top China News
 

HK recovers from violent protests during WTO meeting

 

   
 

Analysts expect China to revise GDP by 20%

 

   
 

Iran seeks to sign key oil deal with China

 

   
 

3 villagers killed during riot at power plant

 

   
 

Welfare heating to be stopped in 2007

 

   
 

Bush: Pullout would hand Iraq to enemies

 

   
  Welfare heating to be stopped in 2007
   
  3 villagers killed during riot at power plant
   
  Electrician detained for Liaoyuan hospital fire
   
  HK recovers from violent protests during WTO meeting
   
  Iran seeks to sign key oil deal with China
   
  State urges end of poultry restrictions
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  It is time to prepare for Beijing - 2008  
Manufacturers, Exporters, Wholesalers - Global trade starts here.
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 女欢女爱第一季| 本道久久综合88全国最大色 | 日韩精品无码久久一区二区三 | 男国少年梦电影| 国产精品亚洲四区在线观看| 久久久无码精品国产一区| 欧美日韩精品久久久免费观看| 免费在线观看a| 美国十次狠狠色综合av| 国产人妖视频一区二区| 99久久亚洲综合精品成人网| 日韩一级片在线观看| 亚洲综合五月天| 青娱乐手机在线视频| 国外性xxxnxxxf视频| 久久久久久不卡| 日韩精品视频在线观看免费| 亚洲国产模特在线播放| 美女无遮挡免费视频网站| 国产精品久久久久久麻豆一区| 99精品欧美一区二区三区综合在线| 日本黄色激情片| 伊人性伊人情综合网| 超pen个人视频国产免费观看| 国产欧美精品一区二区色综合| 一个人看的www在线观看免费| 欧妇女乱妇女乱视频| 免费的一级黄色片| 香蕉视频在线免费| 在线视频一区二区三区四区 | 久久国内精品自在自线400部o| 热热色原原网站 | 97热久久免费频精品99| 成年人视频在线观看免费| 久久亚洲综合色| 日韩在线视频精品| 久久精品视频一区| 正在播放宾馆露脸对白视频| 四只虎免费永久观看| 热久久这里是精品6免费观看| 国产高清免费视频|