NegotiatorscameclosebutfailedTuesdaytoclinchafree-tradedealthatcouldhavehelpedboosttheworldeconomyby$1trillionayearandclearedthewayforabroaderglobalagreement.
DiplomatsfromtheWorldTradeOrganization’s159membershadbeentryingtoforgeanagreementbeforeatradeministers’meetingnextweekinBali,Indonesia.AchievingadealinBaliisseenasafinalefforttoreviveabroader12-yearefforttoeaseglobaltraderules.
Themini-dealdiscussedinGenevahadbeenintended,inpart,toreducedelaysandinefficienciesatnationalborders.Makingiteasiertomovegoodsacrossborderscouldboosttheglobaleconomybynearly$1trillionayearandsupport21millionjobs,accordingtoareportco-writtenbyJeffreySchott,aseniorfellowininternationaltradeatthePetersonInstituteforInternationalEconomics.
Thelackofaglobaldealhasn’tpreventedindividualcountriesfromseekingagreementsamongthemselves.Butexpertssaythefailuretoreachaglobaldealleavespoorercountriesworseoff.
“Thisshouldbeano-brainerfordevelopedanddevelopingcountries,”Schottsaid.
DeputyU.S.TradeRepresentativeMichaelPunkeexpressed“agreatdealofsadness”overthefailureinGeneva.“We’reworried—alongsidesomanyinthisroom—thataonce-in-a-generationopportunitymayhaveslippedourgrasp,”Punkesaid.
Schottsaidhe’shopefulthatnegotiatorswillsalvagethedealinBaliandrestoretheeffortstoachieveabroadertradeagreement.“Ifthissmalltestcan’tbepassed,there’sverylittlereasonforconfidence”negotiatorswilleverreachthebroaderagreement,Schottsaid.
Somepoorcountriesaredemandingeconomicandtechnicalassistancebeforetheysignon.Indiaisholdingupadealbyinsistingonprotectionsforitsfarmers.
TheWTOchief,RobertoAzevedo,saidsomuchdisagreementremainsthatseveralmoreweeksofnegotiationscannotbridgethegaps.
NegotiationstowardabroaderglobaltradedealbeganinQatarin2001,andtheagonizingpaceoftalksfrustratedAzevedo’spredecessor,PascalLamy.
Still,somedevelopedcountriesareseekingtoreachsidedeals.TheEuropeanUnion,forexample,hassignedfree-tradepactswithSouthKoreaandCanada.TheEUisalsoholdingseparatetalkswiththeUnitedStatesandJapan.