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News Releases
No. 05/06
January 23, 2006
THE DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA: EUROPE
STILL AMBITIOUS FOR THE DOHA ROUND, BUT IT IS TIME FOR OTHERS TO MOVE
In a speech in Berlin today EU
Trade Commissioner
Peter Mandelson (pictured below) set out the EU’s strategy for concluding
an ambitious
Doha deal in 2006 and called for a series
of intensive bilateral contacts to help move
negotiations forward. Speaking to an audience of German
business and political leaders, Mandelson said the state
of the negotiation was "serious but not desperate."
He argued strongly that Europe does "not hold the key
to the next step of progress." He said Europe had so
far put far more on the table than any other WTO member
and that others now had to respond to Europe’s offers if
the talks were not to fail. He urged Europe’s trading
partners to make offers which will permit a balanced
outcome that delivers growth for the world economy.
Mandelson called for a series of "intense,
concentrated, bilateral contacts" to establish the
levels of confidence necessary to build a final
agreement based on comparable levels of ambition. He
concluded: "There is no alternative to negotiation. I
am sure Europe is willing to move faster and go further
where that is appropriate - but not in a race with
ourselves."
No Real Cuts for Paper Cuts
Commissioner Mandelson said that the EU remained "completely
committed to going as far as it could in all areas of
the
Doha negotiations…provided there is comparable
effort elsewhere." He argued that there must be
matching effort in agriculture and industrial goods as
the Hong Kong declaration demands. Commissioner
Mandelson said that Europe could very reluctantly live
with a modest Doha outcome but believed that such an
outcome would not be the best result for development or
for the world economy. A better way forward would be for
all WTO members to come forward with proposals to reduce
protectionism according to their real level of
development. Commissioner
Mandelson said: "The blockage in the (Doha) Round is
not in Brussels...That is why I am compelled to say
again to our WTO negotiating partners: Europe cannot
envisage a Doha Round that would be concluded on the
basis of real cuts by Europe and paper cuts by others.
Ambition for Europe. Inhibition for everyone else. This
is a political non-starter, as well as a bad economic
recipe for world trade growth. We must work for a result
that means something for traders on the ground. If not -
and I must make this clear - any developed or emerging
economy that thinks it can come to the Doha table empty
handed, will, I’m afraid, go home the same way. I cannot
sell a deal in which Europe gives but gets nothing in
return. That is not a negotiation; that is a
capitulation. Europe is ready to give more than others.
But it is not willing to get nothing in return."
The Doha Round Is a Two Way Process
Commissioner Mandelson argued that Europe’s "first
loyalty in trade policy is to the WTO and the success of
the Doha Round." He argued that Europe has "shown
again and again - without due recognition - that we are
prepared to pay to keep the multilateral system on
track." He argued that Europe’s current proposals in
the Round "have a real political price for EU Member
States. Taken together over the present reform cycle,
they will have a considerable impact on people’s jobs
and people’s lives. European agriculture - cereals,
poultry, beef and much besides - will contract and there
will be a significant loss of employment" as a
result of our WTO offer. He argued that "no other
member of the WTO has made offers or concessions that
remotely match Europe’s." He reaffirmed that Europe
would seek similar commitments to agricultural reform
from all other developed countries, including the USA,
as part of a final Single Undertaking.
More than Farm Trade
Commissioner Mandelson rejected the claim that the Doha
round is an "agriculture round" or that the success of a
development Round depends on further agricultural
concessions from Europe. He said that the countries that
have grown most in recent years are those that have
moved away from agricultural trade to trade in
industrial goods and services. He highlighted the
benefits to developing countries that would flow from
lowering industrial tariffs including between developing
countries. He said that the development benefits of
services trade in particular have been misrepresented by
some NGOs and protectionism in the developing world was
wrongly encouraged as a means of development.
Differentiating Developing Countries
Commissioner Mandelson argued that negotiations had to
move beyond the assumption of a single set of developing
country interests in the Doha negotiations. He argued
that recognizing the greater ability of competitive
emerging economies to liberalize trade was now
"realistic and necessary." He said: "The G20 and the
G90 do not have identical interests and capacities in
trade. Some are major economic players and exporters on
the world stage: others need all the help we can give
them."
Further Contact Information
Press and Public Diplomacy
Delegation of the European Commission
2300 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
http://www.eurunion.org/PressRoom
Tel: 202-862-9552
Fax: 202-429-1766
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