Lamy Sees Closing Gaps between US and EU in Global Trade Talks

World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy recently said that he saw signs that the United States and the European Union were close to narrowing their differences in the Doha Development Round. He said last Wednesday that the two parties were gradually bridging their gaps particularly on agricultural subsidies. It must be noted that farm subsidies are among the major issues affecting the progress of the global trade talks. The members of the WTO are pushing hard to complete the negotiations and come up with a global trade agreement before the end of this year.

During a meeting with the press, Mr. Lamy said that differences between the US and the EU concerning farm subsidies were narrowing. Needless to say, he stated that the more important question was whether they were making such progress fast enough. It must be noted that the reduction of farm subsidies, as well as tariffs on manufacturing products, have been among the key factors affecting the movement of the global trade talks.

The European bloc has demanded the US to further cut its farm subsidies, while Washington has insisted that the EU should reduce its duties on imported farm goods. A week ago, Crawford Falconer, who is the chief of the Agriculture Committee under the WTO, released a document, otherwise called as "challenge paper," to all the members of the global trade organization. But Washington criticized the paper, saying that it was not balanced. The members of the G20 and the G33 also expressed a view similar to that of the US.

But the WTO chief said that Falconer's paper could produce the desired effect by stimulating the global trade talks. It must be noted that next week, around 30 ministers will hold a meeting in Paris in order to discuss the future of the Doha Round. The talks would be done on the sidelines of the conference of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Meanwhile, the members of the G4 (the US, the EU, Brazil, and India) are also scheduled to have their meeting in Brussels. The four members of the group play a vital role in the global trade talks. It must be noted that last month, the G4 members held a ministerial-level meeting in New Delhi in order to talk about ways of completing the negotiations. The key players of the Doha Round have also set a new deadline for the conclusion of the negotiations.