Top European Commission officials met Tuesday with representatives of 15 countries to sound them out on a new round of global trade liberalization talks, an official said. Brussels aimed to submit early proposals to unblock the process that collapsed at protest-plagued World Trade Organization talks in Seattle in December 1999, said a high-ranking European official, who declined to be named.
The European Commission delegation was led by European trade commission director-general Peter Carl, the official said. Talks were held with officials from Australia, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Morocco, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand and Turkey.
Brussels aimed to make new proposals to ensure that all 140 members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) could play a part in preparing for a new round of global trade talks, the European official said.
Out of concern for "realism," the European officials also wanted to hear opinions on a new approach for talks on competition and investment, which Brussels wanted to include in a new round, the official said. Developing countries have expressed suspicion about the discussions, the European official said.
While Brussels would prefer all countries to abide by the same agreements, the European Commission had decided to float a "trial balloon" suggesting that countries would be free to decide whether to sign commitments on competition and investment.
The European Commission had sought to persuade other countries that the accords could benefit their development despite fears to the contrary that had helped to block the launch of a new round.
The commission also believed that a fresh look at the rules adopted by the Uruguay Round of trade talks under the former General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was justified, the official said.
Developing countries had been calling for such a re-examination in a new round of trade talks. They wanted in particular to discuss anti-dumping rules, frequently implemented by rich countries against products from poor countries. Anti-dumping measures were unleashing increasing opposition among the developing nations.
But there was resistance to revising the anti-dumping rules in the United States and in the heart of Europe, the European official said. The European Commission had no reason to expect a negative attitude to a new round from the new administration of US President George W. Bush, the official said. — (AFP, Geneva)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
