Asia-Pacific

US has little optimism for Doha round, says official

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-23 20:13

OTTAWA - The United States and Canada are seeking bilateral free trade deals, rather than relying on the Doha round of World Trade Organization (WTO) talks, the US trade representative and Canada's minister of international trade said Thursday.

Still, a deal was possible in 2011 if developing countries were willing to soften their negotiating positions and open their doors to US exports, US trade representative Ron Kirk said.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference after a private meeting on US-Canada trade issues, Kirk made it clear the US was not counting on a new WTO agreement in the near future.

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Instead, he said, developing countries would continue to have tariff-free access to the US market. At the same time, the US would seek out bilateral deals that were favorable to the US economy.

Canada is following a similar course. It is trying to negotiate a free trade deal with the European Union (EU). If Canada succeeds, it will be the first developed country to establish free trade with the EU.

"Our president and every member of our administration are focused on what to do to stimulate job creation in the United States and we believe trade will have a critical role in doing that," Kirk said.

His country has already worked out a free trade deal with South Korea and is hoping for agreements with Panama and Columbia. Kirk said those countries "are important markets for our businesses and agriculture."

He said the US found it difficult to make an agreement with "153 wildly divergent economies" and said he did not believe it made sense to set "an arbitrary date" for an agreement.

Developing countries must reassess their bargaining positions if they really want an agreement, Kirk said.

The US trade representative believed the surest way to bring the Doha round to a conclusion "is to begin with a dose of reality".

"Let's look at the world as it is now, not 10 or 15 years ago. Let's work collaboratively to have an agreement that gives these least-developed countries access to markets they already enjoy in the United States, Canada, and the European Union, but takes into account these advanced developing economies like Brazil, India and China have benefited extraordinarily from trade liberalization in the last 10 or 15 years," he urged.

The Obama administration claims Brazil, China and India have the most to gain out of the Doha round of WTO negotiations, but their economies are also the world's fastest-growing.

Kirk says the US is being unfairly targeted for protectionist policies.

"It's hard to look at our $300 billion trade deficit and argue that we haven't opened our markets to the world," he said.

Kirk and his Canadian counterpart Peter Van Loan pointed to the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico as a deal that had benefited all signatory countries.

"We believe there is no better example, no greater manifestation anywhere in the world of how you can build prosperous communities, create wealth, create jobs for citizens of both countries," Kirk said.

Van Loan said Canada's previous Liberal government had relied on Doha for trade liberalization. "We're not waiting for it. We are moving forward on all fronts," he said.