Posted at 10:17 p.m. PST; Sunday, December 5,
1999
The Seattle Times Company
What's ahead for the WTO
When
the World Trade Organization finished its work here, it was to
have issued a
declaration
outlining the size and scope of future world trade talks. But
because the
talks
here collapsed, there was no document.
Draft
copies of what such a document might have looked like circulated
around the
meeting.
One of the most complete showed the WTO was ready to begin a
minimal
round
of trade talks on the basic issues before them - agriculture,
services and
overall
world tariffs.
Here
is a look at various issues and what happened:
Agriculture
The
issue: It's the most contentious of issues and in some way the
deal breaker. The
United
States and a group of agricultural exporting nations known as the
Cairns
Group
were close to a deal that would have called for gradual
reductions in export
subsidies
leading toward their eventual elimination. The European Union,
which
heavily
subsidies its farmers, resisted the move. No agreement was
reached.
What's
ahead: Previously scheduled WTO talks on agriculture will begin
in January,
but
it is now much less likely that the EU will agree to far-reaching
concessions on
farming.
Labor rights
The
issue: The U.S. made labor rights one of its objectives. The U.S.
had proposed
a
working group be set up in the WTO to look at the issue.
Developing nations
opposed
the idea, seeing it as a form of rich-country protectionism. When
President
Clinton
said the working group should develop labor standards enforceable
by trade
sanctions,
developing nations were incensed.
What's
ahead: Labor rights is off the table with no plans to bring it up
again.
Electronic commerce
The
issue: It's fairly simple - an extension of a moratorium on
charging duties on
Internet
sales and software. There was little opposition to the idea and
draft
statements
supported an extension.
What's
ahead: The existing moratorium is in effect until February.
Reforming the WTO
The
issue: This was known as transparency in the talks. The idea was
to make the
WTO
more open, more accountable to the public, especially in its key
dispute
resolution
process. This was another goal of the Clinton administration.
Many
countries
opposed it, saying the WTO was a government-to-government
organization,
precluding outside influence.
What's
ahead: An existing study group will continue to look at the
issue. Draft
declarations
called on individual countries to do more about explaining the
role of
the
WTO and bringing outside interests into the process.
Environment
The
issue: Environmental groups pushed for the WTO to open up several
agreements
and specifically link trade with environmental concerns. Most WTO
members
said existing WTO protections were adequate.
What's
ahead: More debate and more pressure from environmental groups
are
coming.
New measures failed to make any draft declarations.
Tariffs
The
issue: About six categories of industrial products, including
timber, paper and
other
forest products, were to be in a group where existing tariffs, or
taxes on
imports,
would be lowered. It was opposed by environmentalists.
What's
ahead: No action is expected.
Business
The
issue: The failure of the talks will disappoint many U.S.
companies.
Agricultural
companies had counted on tariff reductions and subsidies to give
a big
lift
to exports. Electronic-commerce companies had high hopes that the
WTO would
extend
a moratorium on taxation of Internet transactions.
What's
ahead: Either of those areas could be negotiated separately in
the future, but
the
prospect of progress is uncertain.
Copyright
© 1999 The Seattle Times Company
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