Brenda LaGrange Johnson, Contributor
The United States remains committed to the successful conclusion of the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations of the World Trade Organisation. Formal talks have been suspended, but the United States will continue to work with other countries on the round's trade and development goals.
The United States continues to regard the Doha Development Agenda as this generation's special opportunity to lift millions of people out of poverty and to create broad new economic opportunities for millions of others through increased trade flows in agricultural and industrial goods and services. What does this mean for Jamaica? It means the potential for more jobs, more exports, a healthier trade balance and a stronger economy.
As President Bush said of the Doha Round in Miami on July 31, "We'll do everything we can to get Doha back on track ... completing the Doha Round is going to demand tough choices. We're willing to make those choices. And other nations should, as well. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to jump-start global trade and create opportunities around the world."
Leadership role
The United States is proud to have played a leadership role in the these efforts by helping to launch the round in 2001, by reviving it in 2004 after the near-collapse at the Cancun ministerial meeting in 2003, and then by jump-starting it with an ambitious offer on agricultural trade on the eve of the 2005 ministerial meeting in Hong Kong. We will continue to push ahead for success in this historic endeavour.
The United States will continue to explore every opportunity that could lead to a breakthrough. U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab visited Brazil in late July. Later this month, she plans to meet with trade ministers from the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN). In September, Schwab, along with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, will visit with members of the Cairns Group of agricultural exporting nations in Australia. In November, Ambassador Schwab will accompany Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to a meeting of trade ministers and other leaders of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation group (APEC).
As the United States moves forward with these efforts, we will continue to be guided by fundamental principles about trade and development.
The first is that there is no better way to alleviate poverty and spur development than to break down barriers to trade in all types of goods and services. Aid is important and the United States contributes generously to countries around the world as they seek to build their economic infrastructure, but aid is no substitute for trade. The World Bank estimated conservatively that there could be a $142 billion income gain for developing countries from the elimination of barriers to trade in goods. That amount exceeds even the $107 billion in 2005 foreign economic assistance from major industrialised countries and the recent G8 initiative for up to $60 billion in debt relief for the heavily indebted poor countries.
Increased market access
Another principle is that increased market access, particularly in agricultural goods, is at the heart of efforts to spur development through increased trade flows. Study after study has come to this conclusion. The World Bank estimated that 93 per cent of the benefits to developing countries will come from reducing tariffs on agricultural products.
The reduction of agricultural subsidies, especially those that distort trade, would contribute far less to improving the welfare of the world's poor. Just the same, the disciplining of such subsidies should also be part of a balanced approach to improving trade flows. The United States offered to make dramatic changes to its farm programmes nearly ten months ago and we remain willing to go even further to achieve a successful outcome for the Doha Round. But our trading partners must be willing to bring down their tariffs and other barriers far more than they have proposed to date.
South-South trade
A third principle is that - in addition to developed countries further opening their markets - there must be more South-South trade for the development goals of the Doha Round to be achieved. A successful Doha outcome must include market access openings from advanced developing countries, where vast potential economic benefits lie for so many other developing countries. When 70 per cent of the tariffs paid by developing countries are paid to other developing countries, there is clearly something wrong.
Jamaica has long been a leader in the international community, and Jamaica's trade negotiators are recognised for their tact and expertise. To make the Doha Round work will require those who put aside hollow rhetoric and recognise that constructive dialogue can make this work. It is worth remembering that the Uruguay round was declared 'dead' in the early 1990s, but through relentless effort it achieved its goals. We believe that this is possible once again. The United States believes that economic growth is the true key to development, and we look forward to a partnership that will make Doha's goals a reality to help Jamaica grow as we all know it can.
WTO members made progress on many fronts over the last five years of Doha negotiations, but we still have a long way to go in achieving a robust, comprehensive and balanced final agreement. The United States remains firmly committed to that goal and invites our trading partners to join us in advancing the trade and development objectives of Doha.
Brenda La Grange Johnson is the United States Ambassador to Jamaica.
