Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations have resumed in earnest with an preliminary aim to reach tangible gains by the end of March, the South Korean government said Monday.
The DDA talks that were launched in November 2001 were temporarily suspended in July before the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed to restart working-level ones later in the year.
"Ministerial-level officials agreed at the recent Davos Forum on the need to restart talks as the deadline for the U.S. trade promotion authority, or TPA, expires on June 30," said Min Dong-seok, assistant minister at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
He said in order for the TPA to be extended or rewritten by the Democrat-controlled Congress, it is imperative that some tangible gains are made by the end of March, when the U.S. administration is expected to ask lawmakers for an extension of the trade authority.
The TPA is a temporary legislation that requires Congress to vote for or against trade agreements signed by the administration without seeking amendments.
The assistant minister said despite the expressed need by all sides to get the Doha Round moving forward again, there are still formidable obstacles that need to be overcome.
"Differences in allowable agricultural subsidies and tariff levels are key sticking points," Min said. He added if these issues are somehow resolved, there would still be others raised by net importers of agricultural produce including South Korea. Those countries want to limit the size of tariff cuts and allow as many items as possible to be excluded from any open trade pact that could cripple their respective markets.
The United States said it could lower its agricultural subsidies to a maximum US$22.6 billion a year from its previous position of $48.2 billion. The European Union and the G20, which includes Argentina, Brazil, China and Mexico, want subsidies to be cut to $12.0-15.0 billion. The G20 represent the interests of developing economies that export agricultural produce.
In terms of tariff cuts, Europe and the G20 said 51-54 percent reductions are possible, while the United States has supported ones of 60 percent.
"Although progress in these negotiations is uncertain, South Korea in conjunction with other net agricultural product-importing countries must be prepared to protect its interests," said the official.
As for ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) talks between South Korea and the United States, the official stressed that both sides need to exercise flexibility in order for progress to be made.
He said that Washington must be willing to show flexibility on agriculture in the seventh round of talks scheduled for next month.
"If there is no flexibility, it will make it hard for South Korea (to agree to a deal)," he said. Seoul has said pressure to open up its rice market will be a deal breaker.
The trade negotiator also said South Korea and the United States should hold a technical meeting on the issue of allowing U.S. beef back into the country before the start of the next FTA talks in Washington.
However, he said both sides had agreed to a sanitary and phytosanitary pact in January 2006, so the two countries were obliged to respect the pact.
Under the agreement, South Korea agreed to import deboned beef from cattle under 30 months old. Seoul has banned American beef since late 2003 following the discovery of a case of mad cow disease in the U.S.
In 2006, South Korean quarantine officials sent back three shipments of U.S. beef totaling 22.3 tons after they found bone fragments in the packages. No U.S. beef shipments have arrived in the country this year.
Seoul, Jan. 29 (Yonhap News)
WTO agrees to resume Doha talks, aims to make gains by March |
