He explained that there is still a degree of preparatory work that must be concluded in order for the process to move ahead. The WTO is beset with stalled talks for a new global trade order and officials are doubtful that a new round of talks would be concluded before the end of the year.
“Part of that prep work is the consultation with the Bahamian public,” said Minister Mitchell.
“The prime minister spoke about the fact that no decision of that nature would be taken unless there is the fullest consultation with the Bahamian peopleļ¾ I think prior to an election the time just isn’t propitious nor is there the actual time to have a full type of discussion on the issue before we say we are going forward in a particular direction.”
Much work is also needed, he said, in the areas of public education and helping the parties close to the accession process to develop a fuller understanding of the nature of what is being done.
The foreign affairs minister said the breakdown of the latest round of global trade talks is not expected to have much of an immediate impact on The Bahamas.
Minister Mitchell – who also has responsibility for bilateral and multi-national trading relationships – said the stalemate in World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations should have only a minimal impact on this country.
He based that forecast on the fact that The Bahamas has only observer status at the WTO.
“The specific stalling of the talks doesn’t really affect us as such except that there is some breathing space, one imagines, to be able to continue the whole public education on the issue,” he said in an interview with the Bahama Journal.
Observers speculated following the halt of the talks two weeks ago that the collapse reflected a level of mistrust among global trading powers, with the European Union blaming the United States and its policy on farming subsidies for the breakdown.
The US, meanwhile, blamed Europe and criticised as insufficient its efforts to reach a deal on farming tariffs.
As a result of the stalemate the WTO decided further talks should not be held for the immediate future, with WTO Director General Pascal Lamy expressing doubt that the round would be concluded before year’s end.
In his assessment of the stalled global trade talks, Director General of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM), Dr. Richard Bernal, expressed disappointment that the parties were not able to arrive at a consensus.
“The fate of the Round rests heavily on agreement between the G6 on agricultural issues,” he said in a CRNM news release.
“The large and developed countries must make concessions, not the poor and less developed. It is incumbent on the US and the EU to adjust their negotiating positions accordingly so that meaningful improvement can be achieved in market access for developing country exports.”
The CRNM news release recounted that the WTO talks are at a standstill because the G6 nations – Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, the European Union and the United States – have failed to agree on cuts to farm and industrial tariffs, and reduction in agricultural subsidies.
Dr. Bernal expressed concern that the breakdown could have negative consequences not only for CARICOM countries, but also for global trade.
In another dimension to the issue, it was reported that Russia, India, Brazil and 10 other countries could lose preferential trade benefits under a review announced earlier in the week by the Bush administration.
U.S. Trade Representation Susan Schwab explained that the administration wanted to determine whether certain countries should be excluded from the Generalized System of Preferences programme which grants duty free treatment for goods from 133 countries.
“One of the concerns that Congress has raised is that the GSP benefits go largely to a few countries, while many developing countries are not trading much under the programme. We want to ensure that we are operating the programme as Congress intended,” she said in a statement.
The administration’s review follows complaints from some in Congress that countries such as Brazil and India, which get duty free benefits from the United States, have not been helpful in efforts to achieve agreement in the Doha Round of global trade talks.
By: Darrin Culmer, The Bahama Journal
