Can the G20 revive the Doha round?
By Jon Fernquest[Introduction|Vocabulary|Article]
[Reading Questions|Answers]
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"It ain't over til it's over."
This is a common expression among sports players and business people in the United States.
It means don't give up. There's still time left to win.
In WTO trade negotiations both sides will win if they can reach a compromise agreement.
Many people thought that the Doha round of WTO trade talks were over, but the Brazilian Foreign Minister Amorin is making a last ditch effort to bring them back to life.
If size means power in trade negotiations, then the G20 organization of developing nations may have enough strength to revive the Doha round.
The Cairns Group is another powerful group of agricultural exporting nations that is also making an attempt to save the Doha round in Australia.
Hopefully, the combined efforts of the two groups will come up with a way out of the current global trade impasse.
[Note and apology: Yogi Berra said "It ain't over til it's over." Yogi Berra was an American baseball player famous for the confusing, funny, but profound things he said. This phrase is the first thing that came to mind this morning when I saw this news article. Some English teachers believe that we should never refer to our own culture when teaching English. This seems too extreme since a lot of the language we use in everyday life is also a unique part of our culture. For example, "serious" in Thailand means something that is uniquely Thai and different from what it means in any English speaking country. However, striving to teach a culturally-neutral core of the English language is certainly an admirable goal.]
Reading Questions
Here are some questions to guide your reading (See answers at end):1. What happened to WTO talks recently?
2. Who is Amorin?
3. Where and when will the G20 meet?
4. What is the objective of the meeting?
5. Are FTAs enough according to Amorin?
6. What caused WTO negotiations to break down recently?
7. What percentage of the world's population and agricultural exports do G20 member states account for?
8. How long have the Doha round of trade talks been going on for?
9. What might happen if the Doha round fails to reach an agreement?
10. What is the Cairns Group? What is it know for? (Note: this requires some internet research)
11. Which of the two coalitions is Thailand a member of?
Article
G20 members push to revive WTO talks
Brazil will host Sept 13 summit
VIVIAN SEQUERA
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Amorim announced the G-20 meeting four days after he met with US Trade Representative Susan Schwab in Rio. Both said the WTO talks could be saved if trade ministers hold intensive meetings in coming weeks and months.
Speaking to Brazilian lawmakers, Amorim said regional and bilateral trade deals won't work as a substitute to a deal involving the 149-nation WTO. "There isn't any alternative to the WTO.''
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WTO negotiations collapsed earlier this month in Geneva over disagreements on farm subsidies in rich nations and market access in developing countries. The 21 member nations of the G-20 have about 60% of the world's population and are responsible for about 21% of the planet's agricultural exports.
Amorim also warned that a complete failure of the Doha Round of trade talks, started in the capital of Qatar five years ago, could generate trade protectionism worldwide and lead to increased trade retaliation by nations.
Trade ministers from the G-20 set a tentative schedule for the new meetings to be held Sept 9-10. Then heads of state from India and South Africa will travel to Brazil's capital, Brasilia, for a Sept 13 summit, hosted by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, on reviving a global treaty.
Their talks will come just a week before another international meeting of top officials in Australia billed by that country's trade minister as the last hope of salvaging WTO global trade liberalisation talks.
The United States and WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy have accepted invitations to attend the Sept 20-22 conference in Australia of trade minister from the 18 farm exporting countries that compose the Cairns Group.
The G-20 was formed in 2003 with Brazil as one of its leading member nations. The other members are Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, China, Cuba, Egypt, the Philippines, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, South Africa, Thailand, Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
The Cairns Group -- which accounts for more than a quarter of the world's agricultural exports -- comprises Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and Uruguay. AP
Vocabulary (in discussion above)
revive - bring to life again after failure
compromise - when two sides in a negotiation each give up something, agreeing on some middle way or solution
last ditch effort - a final attempt to succeed before what seems like certain failure
impasse - a situation where is difficult to make progess (literally "cannot pass," like in a Bangkok traffic jam)
G20 - organization of 20 developing countries with "emerging economies" (See Wikipedia)
Doha round - the current round of multilateral world trade negotiations, the main focus of the WTO (See Wikipedia)
intensive - focusing efforts on one task to achieve a lot in a short poeriod of time
bilateral - between two countries
the multilateral system - the world system of many countries trying to negotiate a global system of free trade, (the WTO is currently the focus of these negotiations, before that GATT)
farm subsidies - government money given to farmers to support agriculture in a country (many countries are concerned about maintaining a food supply in their own country for national security in case conflicts or war breaks out)
trade protectionism - when a country uses trade barriers like tariffs, taxes, and subsidies to favor the products from the country and prevent imports from other countries
retaliation - when you hurt someone because they hurt you
tentative - temporary, not final, can still be changed
x billed by y as z - y promotes x as being z
salvaging - trying to find something of value in what has been thrown away (because it not longer has value)
liberalisation - making rules less strict, allowing more freedom of action
the Cairns Group - a group of 18 agricultural exporting countries which account for over 25 per cent of the world’s agricultural exports, this group is pushing for the liberalisation of trade in agricultural exports and has great influence on the WTO Doha negotiations in this area (See homepage and Wikipedia)
accounts for - how big a part of a larger whole, x accounts for y% of z (when you account for a statistic, you break it into parts)
Answer Key:
1. What happened to WTO talks recently?
The talks collapsed. The member states failed to reach a global agreement liberalising trade.
2. Who is Amorin?
Celso Amorim is Brazil's Foreign Minister.
3. Where and when will the G20 meet?
The G20 will meet next month in Rio Janeiro, Brazil.
4. What is the objective of the meeting?
To revive the failed WTO negotiations.
5. Are FTAs enough according to Amorin?
No, bilateral trade deals [FTAs] aren't a substitute for the multilateral WTO according to Amorin.
6. What caused WTO negotiations to break down recently?
Developing wanted developed countries to greatly reduce farm subsidies.
Developed countries wanted greater market access in developing countries.
Neither side would compromise enough to reach a compromise. Since Doha is supposed to be devoted to helping developing countries, the developed countries have received most of the blame for not compromising enough. US president Bush actually raised agricultural subsidies recently.
7. What percentage of the world's population and agricultural exports do G20 member states account for?
G20 member states account for 60% of world population and 20% of world agricultural exports.
8. How long have the Doha round of trade talks been going on for?
For five years.
9. What might happen if the Doha round fails to reach an agreement?
Trade protectionism could rise worldwide and there could be increased trade retaliation between countries.
10. What is the Cairns Group? What is it know for? (Note: this requires some internet research)
The Cairns Group group is a group of 18 agricultural exporting countries with more than 25% of world agricultural exports. The group is pushing for the liberalisation of trade in agricultural exports.
11. Which of the two coalitions is Thailand a member of?
Thailand is a member of both the G20 and the Cairns Group.
