Doha stalemate
By Ben Muse on Doha Round
E.U. negotiator Peter Mandelson is facing lots of criticism for his agricultural negotiation proposals from Franc however, he got a go on a meeting held recently in Paris.
The trade ministers of the Five Interested Parties (E.U., U.S., Brazil, India, and Australia) were to meet again today, and be joined by ministers from Argentina, Canada, China, New Zealand, Japan and Switzerland.
However, Tom Wright indicates that the meeting was canceled because of France's opposition to further compromises in the E.U.'s negotiating position: Trade envoys gloomy on next meeting (International Herald Tribune, Oct 20)
Martin Arnold provides details on comments by France's interior minister: Sarkozy attacks Mandelson’s ‘fool’s bargain’ (Financial Times, Oct 20)
Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s interior minister, on Thursday launched a stinging attack against Peter Mandelson, the European Union trade commissioner, for accepting a “fool’s bargain” in his offer to cut farm tariffs and subsidies...
The French agriculture ministry said on Wednesday evening it could not accept that Mr Mandelson “in any way whatsoever” raise farm trade in talks this week. Its comments came despite EU states backing the trade commissioner earlier in the week.
Sarkozy's editorial apparently went beyond criticism of the particular proposals advanced by Mandelson, to fundamental criticism of the E.U. trade negotiating institutions:
Mr Sarkozy, leader of France’s ruling centre-right party and favourite for the 2007 presidential elections, called for a shake-up of EU international trade negotiations, one of the few areas where Brussels has full powers to act on behalf of its 25 members.
He said Europe should accept that reform was needed after France’s humiliating No vote in its referendum over the European constitution on May 29. “The EU must draw lessons from May 29 by changing its approach to international negotiations,” he said...
He said Mr Mandelson had “gone beyond the mandate of negotiations” granted by EU member states to the Commission and argued that Europe needed “a political leader elected by his peers and accountable before the people and their representatives”.
The piece notes that the French critique may undercut Mandelson's future negotiating credibility. Also that Sarkozy is viewed (in the French context) as a relatively strong advocate of market approaches to resource allocation.
Martin refers to comments by France's Interior Minister, and from its agriculture ministry. Tom Wright also quoted remarks by its Trade Minister, Christine Lagarde, as well.
William Schomberg and Richard Waddington report that: Trading nations pile pressure on EU over farms (Reuters India, Oct 21).
They quote Mandelson as trying to expand the range of issues currently in play. Right now, the world is waiting on an agricultural breakthrough; other issues are moving in slow motion until people see what sort of compromise might be reached on agriculture. Mandelson's comments suggest that E.U. compromise on agriculture might be easier to get if the Europeans see progress, and something for them, in the other negotiating areas. However they also quote the Brazilian foreign minister saying that's not going to happen.
Mandelson is also quoted as referring to the U.S. proposal for a 90% tariff cut as a "hopelessly over-inflated bid" that may impede negotiating progress.
U.S. and Australian hopes:
Both the United States and Australia say any new EU offer would have to be pitched between the U.S. 90 percent cut proposal and a call by the Brazil-led G20 developing country alliance for average tariff cuts of just over 50 percent.
The EU has said it could go over 50 percent only on its top tariffs and wants a wide number of exceptions from the cuts.
And a reminder that it's not over yet:
Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile still had hopes of a deal. "Discussions get made inside a pressure cooker and the pressure comes on the closer you get to decisions," he said.
Tim Colebatch, in Australia, indicates that Mandelson may hope to come back with an new proposal next week: Europe refuses to shift tariffs (The Age, Oct 21):
Instead, EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson said he needed another week to put a proposal together. On Tuesday Mr Mandelson fought off a French-led move to hobble his authority to negotiate tariff cuts.
David Gow and Larry Elliot report rumors that Mandelson may "defy" French objections and offer new proposals in the next week: Mandelson to risk French wrath with subsidy cuts :
With the the main players in the World Trade Organisation negotiations warning that the next fortnight will be make-or-break, EU trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, was last night said to be preparing to risk political crisis, defying France to offer further cuts in farm subsidies and food tariffs...
Mr Mandelson, under renewed fire from Paris for going beyond his mandate, warned that talks at the WTO in Geneva needed a breakthrough "in the next fortnight" or the planned summit would have to scale down its ambitions. A posse of senior French ministers lined up to warn Mr Mandelson to drop negotiations on agriculture, effectively gagging him, but he is understood to be ready to make new concessions to kickstart movement in manufactured goods and services.
He is said to be calculating that France, in the throes of a political crisis since rejecting the new EU constitution in May, will hesitate to wield the veto on any post-Hong Kong deal and will fail to win backing from other EU states in the run-up to the December summit of 148 WTO states.
Dan Looker quotes U.S. trade negotiator, Rob Portman saying that E.U. proposals as late as the end of October could still be relevant:
Portman and Johanns said that, because the issue of tariff cuts is complex, any serious proposal from the E.U. needs to be made by the end of October in order for negotiators to have time to study it before the Hong Kong meeting. Portman is returning to the U.S. tomorrow, but he said he would be willing to return to Europe next week to continue talks on market access.
Portman, Johanns see possible WTO failure in Hong Kong (Agriculture Online, Oct 20).
Monday, October 24, 2005
US Court Sentenced Company President in Connection With Scheme to Avoid Paying Antidumping Duties
International Trade Law News
Bernard Smith, the President and part owner of Stealth Components, Inc., a distributor of computer components, was sentenced today in connection with a scheme to avoid paying over $385,000 in antidumping duties. Federal District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock of the District of Massachusetts sentenced Smith to 3 years of probation, the first 4 months of which are to be spent in community confinement, to be followed by 8 months and 1 day in home detention with electronic monitoring. Smith was also ordered to pay a $30,000 fine.
In May 2005, Smith pleaded guilty to a seven-count indictment charging him with conspiracy and false statements. Smith admitted that from November of 1998 through May of 2000, he and others participated in a scheme to defraud U.S. Custom's in order to minimize the payment of antidumping duties that Stealth was required to make on imported Korean Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (DRAMs). The scheme involved the presentation of false and fraudulent invoices to U.S. Customs that undervalued the purchase price and falsely described the Korean DRAMs that Stealth imported in order to lessen the cash payment amount for antidumping duties that Stealth was required to make. It was alleged that Smith directed foreign suppliers to prepare fraudulent invoices and other">International Trade Law News: "Company President Sentenced in Connection With Scheme to Avoid Paying Antidumping Duties
Bernard Smith, the President and part owner of Stealth Components, Inc., a distributor of computer components, was sentenced today in connection with a scheme to avoid paying over $385,000 in antidumping duties. Federal District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock of the District of Massachusetts sentenced Smith to 3 years of probation, the first 4 months of which are to be spent in community confinement, to be followed by 8 months and 1 day in home detention with electronic monitoring. Smith was also ordered to pay a $30,000 fine.
In May 2005, Smith pleaded guilty to a seven-count indictment charging him with conspiracy and false statements. Smith admitted that from November of 1998 through May of 2000, he and others participated in a scheme to defraud U.S. Custom's in order to minimize the payment of antidumping duties that Stealth was required to make on imported Korean Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (DRAMs). The scheme involved the presentation of false and fraudulent invoices to U.S. Customs that undervalued the purchase price and falsely described the Korean DRAMs that Stealth imported in order to lessen the cash payment amount for antidumping duties that Stealth was required to make. It was alleged that Smith directed foreign suppliers to prepare fraudulent invoices and other"
Bernard Smith, the President and part owner of Stealth Components, Inc., a distributor of computer components, was sentenced today in connection with a scheme to avoid paying over $385,000 in antidumping duties. Federal District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock of the District of Massachusetts sentenced Smith to 3 years of probation, the first 4 months of which are to be spent in community confinement, to be followed by 8 months and 1 day in home detention with electronic monitoring. Smith was also ordered to pay a $30,000 fine.
In May 2005, Smith pleaded guilty to a seven-count indictment charging him with conspiracy and false statements. Smith admitted that from November of 1998 through May of 2000, he and others participated in a scheme to defraud U.S. Custom's in order to minimize the payment of antidumping duties that Stealth was required to make on imported Korean Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (DRAMs). The scheme involved the presentation of false and fraudulent invoices to U.S. Customs that undervalued the purchase price and falsely described the Korean DRAMs that Stealth imported in order to lessen the cash payment amount for antidumping duties that Stealth was required to make. It was alleged that Smith directed foreign suppliers to prepare fraudulent invoices and other">International Trade Law News: "Company President Sentenced in Connection With Scheme to Avoid Paying Antidumping Duties
Bernard Smith, the President and part owner of Stealth Components, Inc., a distributor of computer components, was sentenced today in connection with a scheme to avoid paying over $385,000 in antidumping duties. Federal District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock of the District of Massachusetts sentenced Smith to 3 years of probation, the first 4 months of which are to be spent in community confinement, to be followed by 8 months and 1 day in home detention with electronic monitoring. Smith was also ordered to pay a $30,000 fine.
In May 2005, Smith pleaded guilty to a seven-count indictment charging him with conspiracy and false statements. Smith admitted that from November of 1998 through May of 2000, he and others participated in a scheme to defraud U.S. Custom's in order to minimize the payment of antidumping duties that Stealth was required to make on imported Korean Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (DRAMs). The scheme involved the presentation of false and fraudulent invoices to U.S. Customs that undervalued the purchase price and falsely described the Korean DRAMs that Stealth imported in order to lessen the cash payment amount for antidumping duties that Stealth was required to make. It was alleged that Smith directed foreign suppliers to prepare fraudulent invoices and other"
Monday, October 10, 2005
Specter of failure haunts WTO trade talks
Specter of failure haunts WTO trade talks
"The consequences of failure would be an even further switch to [bi-lateral] Free Trade Agreements [FTAs] and long-term weakness for multilateral trade. Trade would become more discriminatory," said Razeen Sally, visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore.
Specter of failure haunts WTO trade talks
CRUCIAL: The WTO meeting in Hong Kong in December is supposed to secure a framework agreed on in the 2002 Doha trade round, and failure could be disastrous for Asia
AFP, HONG KONG
Monday, Oct 10, 2005
Asian member states have as much at stake as anyone in reaching an overall trade accord at the Decem-ber WTO meeting in Hong Kong in December, with failure possibly costing hundreds of billions of dollars and increased protectionism in their key US and EU markets, analysts say.
The prospects of success vary almost by the day — most officials will voice guarded optimism or hopes but in preparatory talks, there has been little sign of the major concessions necessary for an accord.
The December meeting is meant to secure a framework agreement that would put the 2002 Doha trade liberalization round, supposed to be concluded by the end of next year, back on course after it ran into the sands in Cancun, Mexico in 2003.
Key issue
The key issue then — freer access for industrial goods and services against removal of protectionist tariffs on agriculture — is still largely unresolved and if that remains the case in December, the consequences could be severe.
"The WTO meeting in Hong Kong is crucial for the successful conclusion of the Doha round," said Haruhiko Kuroda, president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
"I hope the meeting will bring about a significant if not a complete accord. If it fails, Asian countries may face protectionist pressures from the United States and Europe," Kuroda said.
With China tangled in disputes over its massive textiles exports to the US, having just resolved similar problems with the EU, that prospect cannot be a happy one — but it could be even worse.
Consequences
"The consequences of failure would be an even further switch to [bi-lateral] Free Trade Agreements [FTAs] and long-term weakness for multilateral trade. Trade would become more discriminatory," said Razeen Sally, visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore.
Sally, who is sceptical an overall accord can be reached in Hong Kong, said FTAs, which many in the region have promoted, are not enough for Asia which needs "a healthy multilateral trading system in a reasonably stable international political environment."
For some analysts, it is this downside of any failure that makes the most compelling case for compromise in efforts to get an agreement.
Will Martin, lead economist at the World Bank’s development research group, Trade, said that given the potential gains, he is hopeful some agreement can be worked out.
"I’m optimistic about the possibility of an accord being reached, although there are many difficulties in the path," he said.
"The potential gains [from trade liberalization] are huge — we estimate in the order of US$290 billion per year — too large for policy makers to let slip through their fingers," he said.
"The consequences of failure would be an even further switch to [bi-lateral] Free Trade Agreements [FTAs] and long-term weakness for multilateral trade. Trade would become more discriminatory," said Razeen Sally, visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore.
Specter of failure haunts WTO trade talks
CRUCIAL: The WTO meeting in Hong Kong in December is supposed to secure a framework agreed on in the 2002 Doha trade round, and failure could be disastrous for Asia
AFP, HONG KONG
Monday, Oct 10, 2005
Asian member states have as much at stake as anyone in reaching an overall trade accord at the Decem-ber WTO meeting in Hong Kong in December, with failure possibly costing hundreds of billions of dollars and increased protectionism in their key US and EU markets, analysts say.
The prospects of success vary almost by the day — most officials will voice guarded optimism or hopes but in preparatory talks, there has been little sign of the major concessions necessary for an accord.
The December meeting is meant to secure a framework agreement that would put the 2002 Doha trade liberalization round, supposed to be concluded by the end of next year, back on course after it ran into the sands in Cancun, Mexico in 2003.
Key issue
The key issue then — freer access for industrial goods and services against removal of protectionist tariffs on agriculture — is still largely unresolved and if that remains the case in December, the consequences could be severe.
"The WTO meeting in Hong Kong is crucial for the successful conclusion of the Doha round," said Haruhiko Kuroda, president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
"I hope the meeting will bring about a significant if not a complete accord. If it fails, Asian countries may face protectionist pressures from the United States and Europe," Kuroda said.
With China tangled in disputes over its massive textiles exports to the US, having just resolved similar problems with the EU, that prospect cannot be a happy one — but it could be even worse.
Consequences
"The consequences of failure would be an even further switch to [bi-lateral] Free Trade Agreements [FTAs] and long-term weakness for multilateral trade. Trade would become more discriminatory," said Razeen Sally, visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore.
Sally, who is sceptical an overall accord can be reached in Hong Kong, said FTAs, which many in the region have promoted, are not enough for Asia which needs "a healthy multilateral trading system in a reasonably stable international political environment."
For some analysts, it is this downside of any failure that makes the most compelling case for compromise in efforts to get an agreement.
Will Martin, lead economist at the World Bank’s development research group, Trade, said that given the potential gains, he is hopeful some agreement can be worked out.
"I’m optimistic about the possibility of an accord being reached, although there are many difficulties in the path," he said.
"The potential gains [from trade liberalization] are huge — we estimate in the order of US$290 billion per year — too large for policy makers to let slip through their fingers," he said.
WTO Negotiations -- US & EU are willing to restrict the Farm-Subsidies
US prepared to cut its farm subsidies by 60 percent
Mon Oct 10, 2005 8:22 AM GMT
By Sophie Walker and Doug Palmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is prepared to cut its most trade-distorting farm subsidies by 60 percent in the next five years and eventually eliminate them but wants deeper cuts by the European Union and Japan, U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman said on Sunday.
Striking a deal to cut rich nations' agricultural supports and tariffs is seen as vital if world trade talks are to make progress in lowering barriers on goods and services globally and agree on a blueprint for doing so at a World Trade Organization meeting in Hong Kong in December.
Washington has been under pressure for weeks to come forward with a plan but U.S. negotiators have been loathe to move without more progress on how much other countries would cut their farm tariffs to open their markets to American farmers.
In an opinion piece to be published in the Financial Times on Monday, Portman said the United States wanted to see steep tariff cuts during the next five years, starting from 55 percent up to 90 percent in the highest tariffs in rich countries. In a second stage, tariffs should be brought down to zero, he said in the article, the text of which was obtained by Reuters in advance of publication.
Portman and other American trade officials will host a meeting on Monday in Zurich of their counterparts from the European Union, Brazil, India and a dozen other key World Trade Organization members.
"A ground-breaking result in agriculture is not in and of itself a sufficient outcome," Portman said. "There must also be complementary advances in trade in manufactured goods and services. The U.S. is ready to make tough decisions on agriculture but we cannot do it alone."
The United States also will urge the elimination of export subsidies -- already agreed under a framework agreement struck last year -- by 2010, Portman said.
The EU has proposed a 65 per
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