New WTO farm head says it's time for tough decisions

A New Zealand diplomat wants Governments to face up to tough decisions to ensure a breakthrough in the stalled World Trade Organisation's Doha Round.

Crawford Falconer - who was confirmed as chairman of the WTO's agriculture committee this week - said countries had been acting a bit like "students cramming for exams."

"Instead of doing their work through the year, they have left it all to the last bloody week in the hope they will be able to cram and get through."

If they did not empower their Geneva ambassadors to work quickly, it would be difficult to get a negotiating template in place in time so that agreements could be forged at the Hong Kong "ministerial meeting" in December.

Falconer, who replaced Tim Groser, said his "primary responsibility" was still to be New Zealand's ambassador to the WTO.

"Unlike some people, that rates 20 out of 20 for me when it comes to the job I am supposed to be doing."

Falconer did not directly mention Groser's failed bid to stay on as WTO agricultural chairman through to December after declaring himself as a National Party list candidate.

But the dig was obvious.

"Being chair of the agriculture negotiations will obviously take a lot of my time ... But it would be impossible to imagine that's somehow my real job and my other job is going to be delegated to somebody else. No way."

Asked about a potential conflict between the two roles, Falconer said there was a "perfect symmetry".

"If I do the WTO role properly, we will get an optimum outcome from the agriculture negotiations, and New Zealand's interest is to get an optimum outcome."

Several key areas have to be crunched if the Hong Kong meeting is to succeed:

* Agriculture tariffs: The overall shape of the deal must be in place with an indication of how tariff cuts will apply. Falconer says the numbers may not be "filled in" until Hong Kong.

* Industrial tariffs: A similar challenge. "They are adopting very defensive tactics at the moment".

* Domestic support: Precision is required on how much the cuts will bite and what kinds of criteria will apply for entitlements to retain subsidies.

* Rules: There must be an idea what people will want to negotiate on anti-dumping subsidies.

* Services: A major push forward is needed.

Falconer points out that on industrial tariffs, some countries may wish to preserve "negotiating coin" for bilateral negotiations, "or they simply do not want to cut tariffs because they are not ready to take on their domestic constituencies".