Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

EU 'positive' on fresh trade round consensus

The European Union on Wednesday said it was 'positive' that a consensus would be arrived at on new round of trade negotiations at the WTO (World Trade Organisation) ministerial conference beginning in Doha on Friday and pre developing countries and 'flexibility' in resolving their implementation concerns.

"We have already covered 80 per cent ground. The remaining 20 per cent will be difficult, but I remain positive," EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy told reporters shortly before his departure for Doha as the head of the EU delegation to the five-day conference.

An agreement on the draft ministerial declaration would open the way to a new round of trade negotiations and the conference should be able to reach a consensus on the draft, he said.

Lamy claimed he was for putting developing countries at the "heart of the world trading system", and said EU was ready to grant them better access to its market and is prepared to accommodate many of the developing countries' demands including implementation of commitments made during the Uruguay round of trade negotiations.

On the contentious issue of Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights, Lamy said US' position represents one extreme and that of India and Brazil represents the other.

EU was working towards a compromise and "our position on intellectual property rights and access to medicines to poor is in the direction of that adopted by developing countries," he said.

An EU official meanwhile described Indian and Brazilian position on TRIPS as driven by commercial considerations and said the two countries were trying to defend their manufacturers of generic products.

"We are prepared to do away certain subsidies and reduce export levies to help developing countries," EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fishler said.

Food production cannot be treated in the same way as the manufacture of motor cars or tyres, he said, adding farmers have to play a major role in protecting environment and rural areas.

Considering that United States was the world's largest exporter of farm products, developing countries might not be the main beneficiaries of total liberalisation of trade in agriculture, EU observed.

Trade in services was a subject on which EU's position favoured countries like India.

EU would also show flexibility on issues like investment and competition, which are being stoutly opposed by India and many other developing countries.

ALSO READ:
India and the WTO: News and issues