ROB PORTMAN TO SUCCEED ZOELLICK AS USTR
US President George W. Bush announced on 17 March the appointment of Rob Portman to be the next United States Trade Representative (USTR), pending Senate approval. The 49-year-old Republican representative in the lower house of the US Congress, a former trade lawyer who is a close ally of the Bush Administration, would succeed Robert Zoellick, who became Deputy Secretary of State on 16 February.
As USTR, Portman is expected to pursue bilateral free trade agreements and the completion of the Doha Round of WTO talks. Short-term challenges will include re-energising the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations and winning Congressional approval for the controversial Central American-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). In the longer term, Portman will guide the administration’s work in creating a free trade zone in the Middle East by 2013.
In a statement following his nomination, Portman, a member of a powerful Congressional subcommittee that deals with trade , underlined the importance of international trade by stating "Open markets and strong trade relations are key components to a more peaceful, stable and prosperous world. Through expanded trade, the roots of democracy and freedom are deepened."
ICTSD reporting; "Bush Nominates Congressman Portman as U.S. Trade Representative," WASHINGTON FILE (US State Department), 17 March 2005; "Bush picks trade representative," ASSOCIATED PRESS, 17 March 2005.
UK: EU SHOULD NOT PUSH SINGAPORE ISSUES IN EPA NEGOTIATIONS
The United Kingdom (UK) Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) has said that the EU should not "push" for the so-called Singapore issues — trade rules on investment, competition policy and government procurement — to be included in the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) currently being negotiated between the EU and the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Countries (ACP). It said that such rules should only be developed if the ACP regions are ready to do so. Many ACP countries were among the most vocal opponents of these Singapore issues at the Cancun WTO Ministerial Conference in September 2003.
In a policy brief released on 22 March, the UK DTI noted that "It is for ACP regional groups to judge the development benefits of any agreements on these issues." This intervention comes amidst various concerns expressed about the developmental benefits of the EPAs. Various UK civil society groups have formed a "Stop EPA Campaign" (http://www.stopepa.org/), contending that the agreements will "deepen — and prolong — the socio-economic decline and political fragility" of these countries.
The DTI paper also points out that simple trade liberalisation should pay heed to the concerns of ACP countries, specifying that each "ACP regional group should make its own decisions on the timing, pace, sequencing, and product coverage of market opening in line with individual countries’ national development plans and poverty reduction strategies." The paper further recommends that the EPAs should be accompanied by additional resources in order to enable the ACP countries to benefit from trade reforms and improve their export competitiveness.
The DTI paper is available online at http://www.dti.gov.uk/ewt/epas.pdf.
ICTSD reporting; "UK Intervenes in EU Trade Plans for Poor," FINANCIAL TIMES, 22 March 2005.