Doha Round Of Negotiations Suspended Once Again

By James A. Morrissey, Washington Correspondent

  The latest breakdown of talks related to the Doha Round of trade liberalization negotiations was not all that disappointing to US textile representatives in Washington who have felt all along they had more to lose than to gain from the round. They were afraid their tariffs could be cut without getting any significant overseas market access in return. Top trade officials of several leading players in the international trade picture had scheduled four days of negotiations in Potsdam, Germany, but the talks were broken off prematurely when it became clear they were getting nowhere.

US Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab expressed her “deep disappointment” but said the United States remains committed to a successful round and the support of the World Trade Organization. She said the United States has been looking for an “ambitious and balanced” outcome, but that apparently was not developing. The major stumbling blocks were Brazil’s stance on agriculture, India’s position on services, and differences on manufacturing issues. “The United States has shown and will continue to show our willingness to be constructive, a constructive negotiating partner to anyone who wants to negotiate in good faith, but we cannot negotiate with ourselves or with those who draw such red lines as to make it impossible to proceed,” Schwab said. She added that the rigidity of the positions taken by Brazil and India seem quite distant from the interests of the developing countries.

Expressing his “great disappointment” with the collapse of the talks, the American Apparel and Footwear Association’s President Kevin M. Burke said, “The citizens of the United States, India, Brazil, the European Union and the world are the true losers in the most recent collapse of the Doha process.”