World Trade | Agricultural Issues Key To Several U.S. Trade Negotiations ...

World Trade

Agricultural Issues Key To Several U.S. Trade Negotiations

U.S. trade representatives were busy this week on multiple trade agreements that will affect the world economy for years to come, and agricultural issues have become critical negotiating points. With the U.S.-Singapore and U.S.-Chile free trade agreements (FTA) passed by the House last week, U.S. focus turned to the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) between the U.S. and Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, to the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations in Montreal and to several other FTAs.

U.S. and Central American trade officials say CAFTA negotiations in New Orleans this week are on track to conclude as expected by year's end. The agriculture component of the CAFTA negotiations involves three areas: market access, non-tariff barriers and support programs. According to Costa Rican Trade Minister Alberto Trejos, current CAFTA discussions involve immediate duty-free access for 75 percent of all goods traded between the nations, and that percentage is increasing. Trejos also predicts agreement not to use export supports in farm trade among the six countries, similar to a provision in the U.S.-Chile FTA.

Meanwhile in Montreal, more than two dozen trade ministers met for WTO negotiations. U.S. and European Union representatives tried to hammer out key agricultural trade issues that have blocked progress thus far. The WTO negotiations, launched 20 months ago in Doha, Qatar, cover services, manufactured goods and other topics, but "agriculture is the key," according to World Trade Organization Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi. Host Canadian Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew described the three day meeting as “useful”, but he mentioned at a press conference yesterday that significant gaps remain on agricultural issues.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and European Commissioner for Trade Pascal Lamy along with European Commissioner for Agriculture Franz Fischler went back to discussions on “blending” their two market access approaches – continuation of the Uruguay Round across-the-board tariff-cut formula supported by the EU and a more dynamic “harmonization” approach backed by the United States and the Cairns Group of agriculture producers. But U.S. trade experts feel the EU needs to propose a better deal on market access and the elimination of export subsidies.

In addition, the U.S. is also working on several other FTAs: some are specific trade agreements, such as with Australia, Bahrain, the Dominican Republic, and Morocco for 2003; others are hemispheric in scope – such as the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) that includes 34 countries with a combined population of 800 million.

Agriculture Ocean Transportation Coalition (AGOTC) - Ocean Transportation Issues.   Please submit your individual nominations for the 2003 USMEF Distinguished Service Award to USMEF by August 15. Click here to download the DSA nomination form in PDF format. Simply fill out this PDF, save it on your computer and then e-mail it back as an attachment to Tiffani Neitzel at tneitzel@usmef.org.   USMEF Board of Directors Meeting - November 5-7, 2003
Hilton El Conquistador Resort, Tucson, Arizona   BOD Sponsorship Form and BOD Reminder Postcard For more information on BOD Sponsorship, please e-mail John Hinners, Membership Director, at jhinners@usmef.org

World Trade

Agricultural Issues Key To Several U.S. Trade Negotiations

U.S. trade representatives were busy this week on multiple trade agreements that will affect the world economy for years to come, and agricultural issues have become critical negotiating points. With the U.S.-Singapore and U.S.-Chile free trade agreements (FTA) passed by the House last week, U.S. focus turned to the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) between the U.S. and Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, to the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations in Montreal and to several other FTAs.

U.S. and Central American trade officials say CAFTA negotiations in New Orleans this week are on track to conclude as expected by year’s end. The agriculture component of the CAFTA negotiations involves three areas: market access, non-tariff barriers and support programs. According to Costa Rican Trade Minister Alberto Trejos, current CAFTA discussions involve immediate duty-free access for 75 percent of all goods traded between the nations, and that percentage is increasing. Trejos also predicts agreement not to use export supports in farm trade among the six countries, similar to a provision in the U.S.-Chile FTA.

Meanwhile in Montreal, more than two dozen trade ministers met for WTO negotiations. U.S. and European Union representatives tried to hammer out key agricultural trade issues that have blocked progress thus far. The WTO negotiations, launched 20 months ago in Doha, Qatar, cover services, manufactured goods and other topics, but "agriculture is the key," according to World Trade Organization Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi. Host Canadian Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew described the three day meeting as “useful”, but he mentioned at a press conference yesterday that significant gaps remain on agricultural issues.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and European Commissioner for Trade Pascal Lamy along with European Commissioner for Agriculture Franz Fischler went back to discussions on “blending” their two market access approaches – continuation of the Uruguay Round across-the-board tariff-cut formula supported by the EU and a more dynamic “harmonization” approach backed by the United States and the Cairns Group of agriculture producers. But U.S. trade experts feel the EU needs to propose a better deal on market access and the elimination of export subsidies.

In addition, the U.S. is also working on several other FTAs: some are specific trade agreements, such as with Australia, Bahrain, the Dominican Republic, and Morocco for 2003; others are hemispheric in scope – such as the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) that includes 34 countries with a combined population of 800 million.

Agriculture Ocean Transportation Coalition (AGOTC) - Ocean Transportation Issues.   Please submit your individual nominations for the 2003 USMEF Distinguished Service Award to USMEF by August 15. Click here to download the DSA nomination form in PDF format. Simply fill out this PDF, save it on your computer and then e-mail it back as an attachment to Tiffani Neitzel at tneitzel@usmef.org.   USMEF Board of Directors Meeting - November 5-7, 2003
Hilton El Conquistador Resort, Tucson, Arizona   BOD Sponsorship Form and BOD Reminder Postcard For more information on BOD Sponsorship, please e-mail John Hinners, Membership Director, at jhinners@usmef.org