Incremental Advances in WTO Negotiations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Incremental Advances in WTO Negotiations - Essay Example Agricultural Export Subsidies and Cotton The final declaration requires elimination of agricultural export subsidies by 2013, a date agreed to the European Union (EU). The EU is important to be considered here as it accounts for about 90 percent of such spending. The US along with the developing countries were thinking on lines of 2010 as a deadline as they believed it could suffice better progress. The declaration requires elimination of export subsidies on cotton maximum by 2006. this issue is particularly important for West Africa. The U.S. Congress is likely to repeal U.S. cotton export subsidies already, in order to come in line with an adverse WTO dispute-settlement panel ruling. It would accord them duty-free, quota-free access to cotton from the lesser developed countries. However, this can practically only take effect once implementation starts on any final agreement reached in the Doha negotiations. It states as an objective that any negotiated cuts in domestic support spending for cotton farmers in countries that have such programs would have to go deeper and be put into practice faster than any other domestic agricultural subsidy cuts. The U.S. delegation worked intensively with mediators from Burkina Faso, Benin, Mali, Chad and Senegal; countries that had threatened to block any Doha agreement without acceptable resolution of the cotton issue. Everyone wants to reduce subsidies and eventually eliminate subsides in agricultural goods, was the general impression at the conference. But here was the argument whether this should be true for all agriculture except cotton, or otherwise. Ultimately, cotton has finally been placed with the rest of its agriculture fraternity. Duty-Free, Quota-Free Market Access The declaration requires the provision of duty-free and quota-free market access for most products from the 32 least-developed countries by 2008 or no later than the start of the implementation period of any agreement. It requires such access for at least 97 percent of products as that fall in line with the tariff schedule. The United States had pressed for exceptions to duty-free, quota-free for specific products that already trade competitively on the global market. The United States has not decided on what products it might exclude from duty-free, quota-free treatment.Sugar may or may not be one possibility.Earlier in the week it was suggested that other possible exclusions, including certain competitive textile products from Bangladesh and Cambodia may be considered. The Doha negotiations have languished almost since they were launched in 2001, with an impasse over politically difficult agriculture issues blocking most other progress. By the end of 2006, they are scheduled to conclude a deadline of sorts for the United States, which has trade negotiating authority from Congress only until