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Future of Doha Round negotiations are in the hands of the US, EU, says Chinese official

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam - 06/02/06 - China is joining the chorus calling for the US and the European Union to reenergize the deadlocked Doha Round of trade negotiations by taking the initiative and further cutting farm subsidies and agricultural tariffs.

"In the Doha Round, agriculture is the most important issue," said Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai. "If the distortions in global trade in agricultural produce go uncorrected, the talks cannot succeed."

But Bo said the onus was on the US and the European Union to cut the farm handouts that penalize poor-country producers.

"The United States and the European Union need to continue work on farm issues and come up with practical cuts. They have to make to make more of an effort if the deadlock in the agricultural negotiations is to be broken," he said.

The Commerce Ministry in Beijing posted Bo's comments on its website - www.mofcom.gov.cn - this morning. 

Bo made his comments yesterday during the just concluded meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade ministers in the Vietnamese capital.

Deputy US Trade Representative Karan Bhatia said at the meeting that China and other emerging economies bore a special responsibility to ensure the talks did not fail.

"China has been an enormous beneficiary of global market access and so it's going to have to play a significant role in bringing this round to a successful conclusion," he said.

WTO Director General Pascal Lamy, who also attended the APEC meeting, has set the end of June as the latest deadline for the body's 149-member states to breathe life into the long-running Doha Round of talks by agreeing on formulas to lift barriers in agriculture, manufacturing, and services.

WTO ministers are due to meet in Geneva on June 26 with the aim of sealing a final deal by the end of the year.

The current round of negotiations began in 2001.

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