CNN.com | September 14, 2003
Rich and poor nations are divided over farm subsidies. Ross Denton of law firm Baker and Mackenzie gives his analysis. CANCUN, Mexico (Reuters) -- Deeply divided and running out of time, world trade ministers made a final push on Sunday to bring rich and poor countries together and rescue troubled talks on freeing up global markets.
The trade talks on Mexico's Caribbean coast have been hit by a North-South split on issues ranging from rich nations' massive farm subsidies to many developing countries' refusal to negotiate new foreign investment.
The mood was somber as delegates of the 146-nation World Trade Organization met for a final round of hard bargaining.
The WTO meeting's chairman tried to break the deadlock on Saturday with a draft proposal aimed at giving all sides something to go home happy with when the five days of formal talks end on Sunday night.
Instead, the proposal was widely criticized, although no one was ready to write off the talks just yet.
Poor and developing nations said it was far too soft in pushing the United States, the European Union and other rich countries to slash the $300 billion in subsidies they hand out every year to their farmers.
Indian Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley led condemnation of the plan, saying it "arbitrarily disregarded views and concerns expressed by us" and "does not lend itself to any meaningful dialogue."
The European Union also found much to complain about, saying a call for an elimination of farm subsidies at some point in the future was unacceptable.
"Positions seemed to be more firmly entrenched," WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell said early on Sunday. "This text as it currently stands is not acceptable to anyone."
Agriculture has been the number one issue in Cancun all week.
Developing countries led by Brazil, China, India and South Africa say the U.S. and EU subsidies cut their own farmers out of world markets and expose them to a flood of heavily subsidized imports.
The North-South divide also extends to proposals that the WTO should set rules for investment and competition policies, the award of government contracts and cutting red tape and corruption that shackles trade.
These "Singapore issues," so named because they were first raised at a WTO meeting in the Asian city state in 1996, are being pushed by Europe and Japan but are fiercely resisted by a large group of poor countries, led by India and Malaysia.
"It looks looks like Singapore issues will be the deal maker or the deal breaker," a EU official said on Sunday, adding that there may be a enough movement during the day to make a deal possible on agriculture.
Riot police huddle together as they block thousands of protesters on Saturday. Ministers need to find enough common ground in Cancun to keep negotiations alive on new trade liberalization pact by the end of next year. The World Bank says a good deal would add more than $500 billion a year to global incomes by 2015 and lift 144 million people out of poverty.CNN.com:
