Post by Sapphire Capital on Jul 17, 2008 6:28:37 GMT 4
July 13, 2008
Indonesia will next week represent the interests of developing nations in negotiations on the Doha Development Round framework during the upcoming World Trade Organization's (WTO) ministerial meeting.
"The purpose of the meeting is to reach a base for further negotiations on agriculture and non-agriculture market access (NAMA)," Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said Tuesday.
The initial base would have no legal grounding, but would be an important milestone in the negotiations, which have been delayed since 2001, Mari said.
During the meeting scheduled to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 21, Indonesia is set to represent the G33; a group of 44 developing countries collaborating on economic and social issues at the international forum. The group formally had 33 members.
The group will meet on July 20 to finalize its stance before the WTO meeting.
The G33's main demand will be for the U.S. to reduce its agricultural subsidy to $8 billion. The U.S. has already agreed to negotiate a reduction in the range of between $13 billion and $16.4 billion.
"With the booming prices of agriculture products at the moment, an $8 billion subsidy is deemed sufficient," said Mari.
The developing countries will also demand a 54 percent reduction in import tariff currently imposed by the European Union and the U.S., and that some of their agricultural products be exempt from a mandatory tariff cut
Indonesia will next week represent the interests of developing nations in negotiations on the Doha Development Round framework during the upcoming World Trade Organization's (WTO) ministerial meeting.
"The purpose of the meeting is to reach a base for further negotiations on agriculture and non-agriculture market access (NAMA)," Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said Tuesday.
The initial base would have no legal grounding, but would be an important milestone in the negotiations, which have been delayed since 2001, Mari said.
During the meeting scheduled to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 21, Indonesia is set to represent the G33; a group of 44 developing countries collaborating on economic and social issues at the international forum. The group formally had 33 members.
The group will meet on July 20 to finalize its stance before the WTO meeting.
The G33's main demand will be for the U.S. to reduce its agricultural subsidy to $8 billion. The U.S. has already agreed to negotiate a reduction in the range of between $13 billion and $16.4 billion.
"With the booming prices of agriculture products at the moment, an $8 billion subsidy is deemed sufficient," said Mari.
The developing countries will also demand a 54 percent reduction in import tariff currently imposed by the European Union and the U.S., and that some of their agricultural products be exempt from a mandatory tariff cut