Washington, Aug 13: US, the European Union and Canada have tabled a joint paper at the World Trade Organization (WTO) intended to increase market access for industrial goods in the ongoing round of global trade negotiations. The paper proposes that WTO members use a simple mathematical formula both to achieve sizable cuts in tariff rates and to reduce higher rates more than lower rates. Developing countries would be allowed to cut their tariffs less than developed countries, based on their economic status, and the poorest countries would be allowed even more flexibility, including a longer time for implementation. Recognizing that many developing countries would find their tariff preferences in developed countries eroded by the proposal, it encourages the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help those countries adjust. The final deadline for Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) and all other negotiations in the current round is January 1, 2005. WTO members' ministers will gather from September 10-14 in Cancun, Mexico, for a major stock taking of the negotiations launched in November 2001 in Doha, Qatar.


Presenting the proposal in Geneva August 11, ambassador Linnet Deily, US permanent representative to the WTO, said that with Cancun just a few weeks away, it was important for the United States, EU and Canada to "give leadership to the process."


Bureau Report