International trade talks on shaky ground

By GREG ANSLEY

MELBOURNE - Developing countries are likely to resist efforts to force an early start to a new round of international trade talks and will insist on special conditions in any deal that does emerge.

They may also frustrate the extension of negotiations beyond the talks on agriculture and services already under way.

They are already heading for a confrontation with Europe over its insistence on the inclusion of issues such as labour standards and the environment.

The developing world's emerging attitude to further trade liberalisation, and a sense that it has not been well served by the multilateral trading system, was made clear at the World Economic Forum's Asian summit in Melbourne.

Both Indonesia's Trade Minister, Luhut Panjaitan, and Hong Kong's Secretary for Trade and Industry, Chau Tak Hay, rejected United States and European pressure for the launch of a new round by the end of the year.

Mr Chau, suggesting no start could be made before late 2001, said time was needed to consolidate new coalitions after the debacle of last year's Seattle talks and to allow a new US Administration to settle in.

Too much is made of the fact that the US and the European Union are talking about launching a new round this year or perhaps even in early January, he said.

Mr Panjaitan said the World Trade Organisation had failed to promote the interests of developing countries, had failed to provide sufficient access in the industrial world for their major exports and had not allowed time to fully implement the conditions imposed by the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

The rules-based trading system had fallen short of expectations, and the benefits had proved illusory, he said.

Such concerns, said WTO deputy director-general Andrew Stoler, could possibly prevent the present round of agricultural and service talks from broadening into such key areas as industrial market access and the negotiation of new rules.

The negotiations on agriculture, which will resume this month, contain some of the timebombs that could frustrate the launch of a comprehensive round.

Nine papers are on the table: a Cairns Group call for the elimination of export subsidies, Canadian proposals on market access, US and EU concepts for the framework of the talks, European proposals for animal welfare, and a case for the preservation of special and different treatment by a group of 11 developing countries.

European proposals, especially, anger developing countries.

Mr Chau said the EU must show sensitivity.

It could not go on insisting on a comprehensive round including almost everything under the sun.