WTO Opens Ministerial Talk Over DDA

With an aim to revive the negotiations over the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) of World Trade Organization, a ministerial meeting was convened yesterday in Geneva, Switzerland.

Trade ministers from about 30 countries, including Korea, the United States, the European Union, Brazil and India were invited for an intensive phase of negotiations expected to last for up to this Saturday. The aim is to reach an agreement on modalities (concrete commitments, including numbers) for liberalizing trade in agriculture and manufactured goods.

The DDA negotiations, held on and off for the past seven years since 2001, are expected to set a stepping stone on the way to concluding the Doha Round by the end of the year, if the members reach an agreement. If the talks fail, however, it is likely to be delayed again due to the U.S. presidential election in November.

Participants include Korean Chief Trade Negotiator Kim Jong-hoon, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, Commissioner of the European Union for Trade Peter Mandelson, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and Indian Commerce minister Kamal Nath.

The Korean representatives in Geneva said, “The success of the meeting depends on the negotiation results between the United States and the European Union, which representing developed countries, and Brazil and India, representing developing countries. The main task is to agree on modalities in agriculture and non-agricultural market access (NAMA) regarding Brazil and India, the formulas to be used to cut tariffs and agricultural subsidies, and a range of related provisions.

The strategies of the Korean trade representatives is that they will closely work with other countries to secure as much exemption rights in the agricultural sector as possible, while aggressively pursue negotiations in the competitive fields such as the manufacturing and service sectors.

pisong@donga.com