PREGUNTAVER

WTO's Director General Pascal Lamy was quoted saying that a deal is now more doable. However, he also added that it is not an assurance that such will indeed happen. "My feeling is that given the level of activity of negotiations in Geneva it is now doable, but saying something is doable is not saying it’s going to be done," he said on the sidelines of an international forum on aid for trade." So much has been written about it in this site and I have gotten quite tired repeating myself. Let's just hope that the negotiators will not sell out their countries and genuinely move in the direction of the conference's real goal-- to bring the benefits of global trade to the less developed economy. Related posts in this site are linked here .

With the talks about to start, there is not nothing left but be optimistic that the DOHA round will be successfully concluded. The previous negotiations ended in disappointments but hopefully, both sides would have already figured out a way to profitably conclude this story. The chief of the World Trade Organization is optimistic that an agreement within the next few months is doable and yet refuses to make a prediction. Such an attitude belies the true state of the negotiation which is, uncertain. The past several negotiations failed mostly because both sides refused to budge. The US insists that the developing countries should open their markets to agricultural exports but the other side rightfully contends that the US should first put an end to subsidies of American farmers. As previously discussed, the developing economies, which stand to endanger its local farmers by exposing them to products imported from the US and other developing states, will be at the losing end of such a d...

pay per click advertising Previous posts in this site quoted Brazil's, India's and The Philippine's strong opposition to US farm subsidies. At present, Canada has joined the fray by asking the World Trade Organization to act and press the US in regard to the issue of farm subsidies. "The debate over farm support is sensitive in both Canada and the US and neither is without sin in this regard. The supports and subsidies are designed to protect both the export potential for this sector and to preserve the rural communities that are so important to both nations. The Canadian position has been that US supports have blocked a great deal of legitimate trade in corn, wheat and other staples and they are fearful that their own export potential is being compromised." For the US, farm subsidies preserve its important rural communities. However, what I cannot understand is the irony of the US posing as the poster boy of free trade while heavily subsiding its local indu...

My warm regards to US educated Philippine President Gloria Arroyo for taking the cudgels of the developing states and hitting at the US for its discriminatory trade policies. She's always been known as a US ally, owing to her close association with Georgetown University classmate Bill Clinton. In the aftermath of 9/11, President Arroyo was also one of President Bush's strongest supporters. Let's enjoy her some portions of her yesterday's speech in Japan. Philippine Sta r : “When trade served their interests , it was the green light. Now that they might have to give up certain subsidies or markets, the yellow light of caution is up,” Mrs. Arroyo said of rich nations. Philippine Daily Inquirer: "The Doha Round was called the development round because it was supposed to bring the benefits of the global trading system to developing countries, she said at the opening of the 13 th Future of Asia conference here. Arroyo said the developed countries let the developing ...

T he DOHA round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations intends to promote the opening of markets and promoting free trade. This April, the latest meeting failed to reach a conclusion. Director-General Pascal Lamy of the World Trade Organization delivered a speech before the US Chamber of Commerce on April 23, 2007. Here are excerpts from his speech. "T oday we know that the Doha Development Round will not be concluded until and unless all these participants are ready to walk the extra mile and table additional contributions to the collective success of this multilateral enterprise. It is clear that the contributions will be linked to the degree of development and wealth of each participant, with the world poorest countries making the smallest contribution. It is also clear that no one will be asked to move first: countries will have to move in concert, like a big orchestra playing to the same tune. For the moment, a group of major actors — the EU, US, Brazil, India — d...

APPLY NOW Trade representatives from the US, Brazil, India and Europe will meet to hammer an agreement that will resolve the 2005 deadlock in the DOHA round. In the negotiations, US and EU will be pushing India and Brazil, acknowledged leaders of the world's developing countries, to open their economies. To quote an online editor at the http://www.americaneconomicalert.org/news_home.asp?NTID=67 ; "Developing nations are being pressed to open their markets wider to industrial goods and services and the United States is seeking fewer farm products on their "protected" list. But India and other developing nations says they needs their farm tariffs to protect the livelihoods of their huge farming populations. Up to 80 percent of the workforces in developing nations depend on agriculture." I believe that the editor failed to point out that the US heavily subsidises a lot of industries, therefore creating “False competitiveness” for their local industries. I am not t...