The US ambassador to the World Trade Organization voiced optimism Friday that an international trade liberalization deal could be reached this year. The Doha Round of talks aimed at opening up markets has floundered since its launch in 2001. But the top US trade diplomat, Peter Allgeier, sounded upbeat that a deal could be reached this year. “We are still concentrating on a successful round this year. I actually think that we can do it,” he said during a luncheon organized by the American International Club in Geneva. “There are a few basic political decisions that have to be made,” he said, but added that once they were, outstanding issues could be resolved. Addressing concerns that a change in the US presidency could scupper any deal reached under the current Bush presidency, Allgeier pointed to previous deals, including NAFTA and GATT, as evidence that new administrations could be counted on to follow through. “If we are able to conclude the negotiations this year, it would be very difficult for any Congress to turn their backs on the agreement which has been negotiated with 150 of our very best friends,” he said. He also brushed aside concerns that the latest 290-billion-dollar US Farm Bill, offering subsidies to farmers, contradicts trade liberalization principles. The “best antidote to the Farm Bill is a strong Doha package,” he said. “If we get a package, we go back to the Congress and we change the Farm Bill,” he added. “Our instructions from President Bush are absolutely clear: they are to do everything in our power to conclude a successful ... Doha Round in this calendar year.” The state of negotiations is reason to believe that the World Trade Organization's 152 members can reach an agreement on the so-called Doha Round, said Allgeier. “We are still concentrating on completing a successful round this year, and I actually think we can do it, given the nature of discussions we are having and the kinds of issues that are out there,” Allgeier said. The Doha Round, launched in Qatar's capital almost seven years ago, centers around a battle between rich countries and major developing nations over farm subsidies and tariffs on goods and services. “It's coming down to some very basic political decisions,” Allgeier said, adding that if emerging trade powers such as Brazil, Argentina and South Africa expect the United States to cut its farm subsidies, then they will have to be forthcoming on nonagricultural tariffs. Skeptics who say that any US offer of cutting farm payments will fail to pass a Democrat-controlled US Congress were wrong, he said. Last week Brazil, India and other developing countries slammed the new US farm bill as a major obstacle to a successful global trade deal. The criticism mirrored earlier comments by WTO chief Pascal Lamy who said the $290 billion (£189 billion) package sent a “bad signal” to the world while the Doha talks continue. “If we have a package that has enough in it for us, we go back to the Congress and we change the farm bill,” Allgeier said. ´If we are able to conclude the negotiations this year, it will be very difficult for any Congress to turn their backs on an agreement that has been negotiated with 152 of our very best friends,? he said in an appearance before an American business group in Geneva. The North American Free Trade Agreement and a previous WTO round had both been negotiated by a Republican US administration and passed with a Democratic majority in Congress, he added. US President George W. Bush, who leaves office in January, has expressed strong support for a Doha deal.
