Trade ministers from rich and poor countries gathered in Mexico City Friday, hoping to narrow their differences over a proposed new round of global trade talks to be launched at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha meeting in November.
WTO Director-General Michael Moore, and ministers from 17 countries, as well as representatives from Hong Kong and the European Union, were to participate in the two-day informal talks scheduled to start Friday afternoon.
Officials say the closed-door discussions aim at avoiding another fiasco in Doha, after an attempt to launch a new round spectacularly collapsed, at the 1999 WTO meeting in Seattle, amid deed divisions between developed and developing countries.
Mexican officials say that since the ministers attending the closed-door talks in Mexico represent all regions of the globe and most point of views within the WTO, there is a good possibility they would emerge with a consensus leading to agreement between all 142 members.
"The aim is to reduce the differences that remain," said Gerardo Trasloseros, who heads the multinational trade accords' section of the Mexican Economy Ministry.
In Washington, a trade official also said the talks would be crucial.
"The idea is to have this ministerial involvement earlier on and to narrow down the issues that ministers ultimately will have to deal with in Doha," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Farm issues and subsidies, as well as enforcement of previous accords are certain to dominate the Mexico meeting.
Developing countries say continuing agricultural subsidies in rich countries represent unfair competition and violate the spirit of free trade.
"Those countries that have more resources to support their agricultural sector are those that have greater advantages in international markets. In our estimation, that is not a fair policy," said Eduardo Perez, Mexico's ambassador to the WTO.
The issue will also be the focus of a Cairns Group of agricultural exporters meeting on September 3 and 4 in Punta del Este, Uruguay.
A US-European Union trade spat also looms over the talks.
The WTO ruled last week that US tax breaks for exports are incompatible with global free trade rules.
Meanwhile, Mexican authorities, concerned about possible protests by globalization foes, did not publicly announce the venue of the talks, set to start Friday afternoon.
Earlier in the week, Economy Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez met with non-governmental organizations, and asked anti-globalization forces to "not interrupt the informal meeting," the daily La Jornada reported.
Ministers from Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Tanzania, the United States and Uruguay are scheduled to take part in the talks here. |
