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Doha failure a blow to world economy, Brazilian says(EFE Ingles Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Geneva, Jul 30 (EFE).- The world economy will suffer due to the collapse of the Doha round of trade talks, a failure that will especially harm the poorest countries and allow the United States to move forward with a law that increase farm subsidies, Brazil's foreign minister said here Wednesday. "We all lose," Celso Amorim said in an interveiw with Efe, but "the poorest always lose more because they have less ability to adapt." "In general, we all lose because if the new U.S. farm law goes into effect it will create the possibility for even higher subsidies than what already existed," he said, referring to legislation that Congress passed last month, overriding President George W. Bush's veto. Brazil was one of the seven commercial powers - along with Australia, China, India, Japan, the United States and the European Union - that in recent days sought unsuccessfully to negotiate a global trade liberalization accord, considered essential before bringing a concrete proposal before a larger group of countries. "We did all we could looking not only at our own interests, but also those of the poorest and developing countries," said Amorim, who added that in search of agreement he went "beyond the limits set before coming to Geneva." "I don't regret anything because I think that allowed us to make some progress," though clearly not enough to secure a successful conclusion to the Doha round, which began in 2001. According to the Brazilian minister, one of the main participants in the negotiations, it is unlikely that the talks will be resumed in the coming months and the most probable scenario is that they won't be restarted until after a new administration is in place in Washington. "We're going to wait two or three years," Amorim said, adding that although "we're not going to be starting from zero, a lot of things are going to be different. We can't assume that everything stays put while waiting for a final solution." "This is not a puzzle with just one missing piece and when that's in place everything is ready. There are several things that will have to be reviewed," he said. He warned, however, that resuming the talks will not be an easy task because the issues and concerns of the countries change over time. "The discussion about agriculture was one thing before the food crisis and now it's another. It's possible that our tolerance for (U.S. and EU farm) subsidies will decrease and we'll think they should be zero," he said. In recent days of intense negotiations, the United States had proposed reducing its ceiling on farm subsidies to $15 billion annually from $48 billion, but the failure of the Doha round means that offer no longer stands. Asked whether Brazil's alliance with India will continue even though in crucial moments of the talks those countries adopted conflicting positions, Amorim said that the unity of the G-20 group of developing nations "has not been shattered." He said the G-20 has made an essential contribution to the World Trade Organization by effecting a lasting change "in the negotiating process and the role played by the developing countries." "Unfortunately, we didn't get the result, but I think it will come, although it will take more time and if it has to be left for another generation then so be it," he said. Regarding the fissures observed in South America's Mercosur trade bloc during the Doha talks, Amorim said the great lesson for Brazil and Mercosur partners Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay is the need "to have a sole negotiating position," something that was not achieved due to "factors that have to do with our history." Despite the collapse of the Doha round, Amorim said that a solution to trade barriers and wealthy countries' farm subsidies will not found at the level of bilateral agreements. "There's no free-trade treaty nor agreement with the European Union, nothing along those lines can bring an end to the main poison that exists in international trade," Amorim said in reference to the subsidies. EFE is/mc Copyright ? 2008 EFE News Services (U.S.) Inc. |