The Bush administration still sees a chance for a breakthrough in world trade talks this year, a top US trade official said on Monday, adding that would give troubled world markets a much-needed boost. "I do believe in the balance of this year, there is an opportunity for a breakthrough," Deputy US Trade Representative John Veroneau said in a speech at the US Chamber of Commerce.
Veroneau conceded that talks in September had failed to bridge differences on a key farm trade issue that had caused talks to collapse in July. Negotiators discussed two "very creative solutions" for resolving the impasse over the so-called special safeguard mechanism (SSM), but one was rejected by China and the other by India, Veroneau said.
Still, if countries have the political will to reach an agreement, one can be found, he said. "The issues are not simple, but they are solvable," Veroneau said. US Trade Representative Susan Schwab is prepared to meet this year with other trade ministers, but only if senior officials make more progress first, he said. In any case, the Bush administration will push to advance the negotiations as far as it can before leaving office early next year, Veroneau said.
Meanwhile, a European Union official said the abrupt departure of EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson last week to take a post in the British government should not be seen as a sign that the EU has lost interest in the talks. Catherine Ashton, the leader of the British House of Lords, has been tapped to replace Mandelson. Ashton is a prominent Labour party politician but not well known on the trade scene.
"The change of the commissioner should, by no means, be an excuse for others not to engage," Nikos Zaimis, head of the trade section at the European Commission office in Washington. He defended Ashton's qualifications for the job and said Mandelson's decision should be seen as that of a politician wanting to help his party at home in a time of need.