Stallman: WTO failure hurts agriculture ‘especially’
August 01, 2014 | 05:04 PM
By ALEX GANGITANO
and JERRY HAGSTROM
The failure of the World Trade Organization to move forward with a Trade Facilitation Agreement will hurt agriculture in particular, a key U.S. farm leader said today, while a WTO expert said that any change in India’s position on advancing the agreement will have to come from within India.
India and a few other countries refused to agree to a July 31 deadline to ratify an agreement to ease worldwide customs rules unless countries agreed to a food security proposal that would allow India to subsidize and stockpile food grains.
The WTO is run by consensus, and the failure to move forward with the agreement has put the WTO and confidence in the future of world trade negotiations in jeopardy.
“Every country would have benefitted had they moved forward with the Trade Facilitation Agreement agreed to last December in Bali,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman said in a news release today.
“Improving slow and out-of-date customs procedures supports all kinds of international trade, but agricultural goods need speedier passage across borders, especially. Time spent waiting at borders too often results in a substantial decline in food quality and direct economic losses to U.S. producers. When trade slows, the American farmer suffers.”
Stallman noted that the Trade Facilitation Agreement reached in Bali “came about only after negotiators agreed that some countries should be allowed to subsidize and stockpile food for citizens who have difficulty paying for it.”
“Now, it seems, India wants a final agreement on that issue before they will move forward with customs reform,” Stallman said. “We understand their eagerness to settle that issue, but this intransigence represents a failure to honor previous promises.”
Speaking to reporters at a luncheon, Jake Colvin of the National Foreign Trade Council said India’s decision “has to do with domestic politics.” Narendra Modi, India’s new prime minister, seems to have done this to get support from rural areas, where he is weakest, he explained.
“Maybe, by some miracle, India will come back to the table. But, it is important that we figure out other ways if India is not willing to be a constructive trading partner.” Referring to exploring other options, Colvin said he fears “smaller, vulnerable countries won’t have a seat at the table like they do at WTO. Failure here is likely to have consequences but I don’t know what they are.”
“I think there will be a push to salvage the agreement one way or another,” he continued. “I think India probably likes feeling under siege, if anything is going to change their mind, it will be within India.”
The agreement leaves the opportunity to lay out priorities, Colvin said.
“Our government made the point that trade facilitation existed before the TFA and will happen without it,” he said. “This might turn out to be a good thing. It forces everyone to think harder and differently about what happens at WTO.”
In Geneva, WTO Director General Robert Azevêdo said that member countries had come close to agreement and urged ambassadors to come back to Geneva in September with renewed energy to delve into the issue again.
Some Geneva-based officials are considering a “plurilateral” agreement under which those countries that want to adopt the agreement would and others would not participate, Inside U.S. Trade reported today.
Trade Representative Michael Froman said today that the United States remains “fully committed to the multilateral trading system embodied in the WTO. But the WTO system relies on its members to implement the commitments to which they have agreed.”
“Geneva will be quiet for the next several weeks,” Froman added. “This is a good time for all of us to reflect on these developments and to consider the implications going forward. We will consult with our trading partners on potential paths forward.”
In his statement, Stallman thanked Froman and Michael Punke, the U.S. ambassador to the WTO, for their efforts and said, “We are optimistic about future prospects under their leadership.”
and JERRY HAGSTROM
The failure of the World Trade Organization to move forward with a Trade Facilitation Agreement will hurt agriculture in particular, a key U.S. farm leader said today, while a WTO expert said that any change in India’s position on advancing the agreement will have to come from within India.
India and a few other countries refused to agree to a July 31 deadline to ratify an agreement to ease worldwide customs rules unless countries agreed to a food security proposal that would allow India to subsidize and stockpile food grains.
The WTO is run by consensus, and the failure to move forward with the agreement has put the WTO and confidence in the future of world trade negotiations in jeopardy.
“Every country would have benefitted had they moved forward with the Trade Facilitation Agreement agreed to last December in Bali,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman said in a news release today.
“Improving slow and out-of-date customs procedures supports all kinds of international trade, but agricultural goods need speedier passage across borders, especially. Time spent waiting at borders too often results in a substantial decline in food quality and direct economic losses to U.S. producers. When trade slows, the American farmer suffers.”
Stallman noted that the Trade Facilitation Agreement reached in Bali “came about only after negotiators agreed that some countries should be allowed to subsidize and stockpile food for citizens who have difficulty paying for it.”
“Now, it seems, India wants a final agreement on that issue before they will move forward with customs reform,” Stallman said. “We understand their eagerness to settle that issue, but this intransigence represents a failure to honor previous promises.”
Speaking to reporters at a luncheon, Jake Colvin of the National Foreign Trade Council said India’s decision “has to do with domestic politics.” Narendra Modi, India’s new prime minister, seems to have done this to get support from rural areas, where he is weakest, he explained.
“Maybe, by some miracle, India will come back to the table. But, it is important that we figure out other ways if India is not willing to be a constructive trading partner.” Referring to exploring other options, Colvin said he fears “smaller, vulnerable countries won’t have a seat at the table like they do at WTO. Failure here is likely to have consequences but I don’t know what they are.”
“I think there will be a push to salvage the agreement one way or another,” he continued. “I think India probably likes feeling under siege, if anything is going to change their mind, it will be within India.”
The agreement leaves the opportunity to lay out priorities, Colvin said.
“Our government made the point that trade facilitation existed before the TFA and will happen without it,” he said. “This might turn out to be a good thing. It forces everyone to think harder and differently about what happens at WTO.”
In Geneva, WTO Director General Robert Azevêdo said that member countries had come close to agreement and urged ambassadors to come back to Geneva in September with renewed energy to delve into the issue again.
Some Geneva-based officials are considering a “plurilateral” agreement under which those countries that want to adopt the agreement would and others would not participate, Inside U.S. Trade reported today.
Trade Representative Michael Froman said today that the United States remains “fully committed to the multilateral trading system embodied in the WTO. But the WTO system relies on its members to implement the commitments to which they have agreed.”
“Geneva will be quiet for the next several weeks,” Froman added. “This is a good time for all of us to reflect on these developments and to consider the implications going forward. We will consult with our trading partners on potential paths forward.”
In his statement, Stallman thanked Froman and Michael Punke, the U.S. ambassador to the WTO, for their efforts and said, “We are optimistic about future prospects under their leadership.”
