The worlds developing nations are to launch a new round of negotiations to reduce mutual trade barriers and secure their already fast-growing share of global trade, newsmedia reported during the weekend. The talks will be launched officially at an Unctad conference to be opened by Kofi Annan, UN secretary-general, next weekend in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The new round of multilateral talks is to expand the 1989 General System of Trade Preferences (GSTP), which allows for trade preferences among the 44 developing countries that have ratified it.
Subsequent minor negotiations failed to improve the GSTP, which was flawed by unclear rules and surpassed by the Uruguay trade round in the early 1990s. Now, its supporters believe there is again sufficient political affinity among leading developing nations to make headway in substantial tariff cuts.
All members of the G77 group of developing countries, including China, will be invited to join. Rules are to be streamlined to prevent “free-riders” who obtain benefits without making concessions. If developing countries agreed to reduce average tariffs by 50 percent, they would generate an additional 15,5 billion US dollar in trade, according to Unctad.
The South African Financial Mail meanwhile noted that the World Bank shows that Africa would have the most to gain from a cut in subsidies.
A pro-poor scenario outcome of the Doha round would greatly improve economic growth and poverty reduction in developing countries. Under this scenario export subsidies, tariffs, antidumping duties and sanctions would be eliminated. Rich countries could be subject to a maximum agricultural tariff of 10 percent and developing countries 15 percent.
The World Bank says agricultural trade would rise by 32 percent and the number of people living on two dollar a day or less would fall by 144 million, most of those in sub-Saharan Africa.
Japanese newsmedia reportede that member economies of the WTO made progress on three key issues during three-day talks over liberalizing global trade in agricultural products, Tim Groser, chairman of the WTO committee on farm trade talks, said Friday.
Groser said member economies made headway during the talks through Friday on the issues of market access, export subsidies and domestic support, according to trade and diplomatic sources.
Groser noted signs that members will be able to narrow their differences on the issue of cutting export subsidies, as the European Union expressed its intention to conditionally agree on setting a deadline to eliminate such subsidies.
However, although some progress was made on market access, members failed to narrow differences over how developed economies deal with agricultural products with high tariffs, such as in the case of rice for Japan.
Several newspapers meanwhile reported that business leaders across the world are urging politicians to make trade talks a top priority, and believe the lack of progress on the Doha round is hampering global growth.
The International Chamber of Commerce/Ifo world economic survey shows companies to be sharply critical of the lack of political leadership on trade issues. Almost three-quarters of 1.200 business leaders from 90 countries in the survey thought it was important or very important for their business or countrys economy that the Doha round get back on track.
A similar proportion said they were dissatisfied with political leaders efforts to reach a fair multilateral agreement.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
