Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 10 • Number 42 • 13th December 2006

‘Narrow Window Of Opportunity’ To Secure Tpa Renewal, Says Bush Administration

Do More

Subscribe to Bridges

* required

Email Address: *

Country: *
Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua And Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas, The Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, Democractic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Croatia (Hrvatska) Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Islands Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia, The Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong S.A.R. Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea Korea, North Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau S.A.R. Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, The New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua new Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Island Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts And Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent And The Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia And The South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard And Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad And Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks And Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City State (Holy See) Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands (British) Virgin Islands (US) Wallis And Futuna Islands Yemen Yugoslavia Zambia Zimbabwe

Employment Sector: *

First Name:

Last Name:

Organisation:

Enter the letters shown above:*

See also

Rumours of the demise of the Bush administration’s trade agenda are greatly exaggerated, a senior US trade official told reporters in Geneva on 12 December.

Deputy US Trade Representative John Veroneau insisted that the Democratic victory in the Congressional elections would not bring trade policy to a standstill in Washington. He said that it remained possible for the president to secure Congressional support for renewing his mandate to negotiate trade agreements, currently set to expire at the end of June. He emphasised, however, that chances for an extension would be enhanced if WTO Members can achieve a breakthrough in the deadlocked Doha Round talks during a "narrow window of opportunity" for doing so in early 2007.

The Democrats’ victory in November brought to power some lawmakers openly sceptical of trade agreements, prompting fears of increased protectionism in Washington. Nevertheless, Veroneau expressed faith that the Republican administration would have a "very good relationship" with the Democratic majority in order to promote a trade agenda with bipartisan support. Several senior Democratic lawmakers have historically been supportive of open trade. However, the Bush administration and Congressional Democrats have generally had a troubled relationship. Nevertheless, the two parties did cooperate earlier this week — after some initial hiccoughs — to pass a bill that extended a series of trade preferences and normalised trade relations with Vietnam (see related story, this issue).

Prior to arriving in Geneva, where he met with trade diplomats from several countries, Veroneau went to Brussels and other European capitals to discuss a number of bilateral issues, including the transatlantic Airbus-Boeing dispute.

The Bush administration’s ‘trade promotion authority’ (TPA) will expire at the end of June, and with it, the ability to negotiate trade deals and submit them to Congress for a yes-or-no vote without the possibility of amendment. Countries are reluctant to sign trade deals with Washington in the absence of TPA, since this would leave Congress free to make changes to the negotiated agreement.

Deputy USTR: window ‘very narrow’

WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy has said that the Doha Round will fail if Congress does not extend TPA (see BRIDGES Weekly, 6 December 2006). He and other top trade officials, including US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, have suggested that there is a small ‘window of opportunity’ between now and spring 2007 during which sufficient progress in the negotiations might help the Bush administration secure Congressional support for extending TPA.

Veroneau downplayed the impact of the elections on the US’ position in the Doha Round negotiations. "There’s always been strong bipartisan support for a good agreement and strong bipartisan opposition to a bad agreement, so in that sense I don’t see the election as having a significant impact on the negotiations," he said. "I think if we are able to present to Congress a package that provides good market access and enables new trade, I think we’ll be in good shape."

He did not offer any specifics on what sort of concessions President George W. Bush would have to see in order to deem it worthwhile to ask Congress to renew TPA, adding only that "traction on Doha… would be a meaningful asset to have in making the case."

The deputy USTR acknowledged that the "window is very narrow," pointing to the French presidential election in April 2007 as yet another constraint. However, he added that "the Round clearly is not dead and there’s a lot of hard work underway right now to see if we can take advantage of this very narrow window to see if we can get a deal, and more immediately, to see if we can get a breakthrough that provides a pathway to a deal."

Hints at flexibility on agriculture

Members’ positions remain largely unchanged since the Doha Round negotiations were suspended in July over differences on farm tariff and subsidy cuts (see BRIDGES Weekly, 26 July 2006). Nevertheless, key governments maintain that they are prepared to soften their bargaining positions — so long as their trading partners do so too.

Veroneau was no exception, declaring that Washington stood ready to offer deeper cuts to its domestic farm subsidies, but that its ability to do so "is directly dependent upon… access for US agricultural exports in the rest of the world." He rejected the notion that Washington could come forward with a "spectacular" unilateral concession to break the deadlock in the talks, arguing that leadership was necessary from multiple WTO Members, not the US alone.

While Members such as India and the EU have criticised the US for not moving further on domestic subsidies, Washington has countered that their market access offers are insufficient.

TPA could lapse without dooming round

Veroneau explained to the journalists that the piece of Congressional legislation that granted the Bush administration TPA does not contain a built-in procedure for renewal. Thus, any ‘extension’ sought would technically be "a request for new [trade promotion authority]."

Securing approval for such a request would not be a mere matter of "a few weeks," stressed the deputy USTR. He said that with a great deal of effort, success might be achieved "in a couple of months." Veroneau said that there was "no legal or political requirement" for TPA to be renewed before the current mandate expires, little over six months from now.

Other nations are free to negotiate with Washington in the absence of TPA. The presidential administration’s ability to put agreements to Congress for a yes-or-no vote only becomes significant once countries reach the stage where they are ready to sign an agreement.

Veroneau suggested that even if Members were "not able to take advantage of this window [of opportunity in early 2007] there may be other windows in the future." Nevertheless, he stressed that "there is a strong sense that this current window is a critical one to try to take advantage of."

Quiet diplomacy continuing

In Geneva, Veroneau stressed that "critically important" bilateral discussions had been taking place among ministers and senior officials. When asked if the talks had succeeded at bridging any differences, he said "we’re moving in the right direction and its too soon to tell if the gaps can be closed." He cautioned that a mini-ministerial meeting prior to the one already scheduled for Davos in late January could unjustifiably raise expectations without any assurance of success.

US Trade Representative Susan Schwab has been engaging in ‘quiet diplomacy’ of her own. After recent meetings with her counterparts in Asia, she may visit Brazil and Europe early in 2007, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The Bush administration’s treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, has also been meeting with leaders in Europe and Asia in an attempt to boost support for the Doha Round talks.

ICTSD reporting; "If Revived, Doha Talks Face Higher Bar," WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12 December 2006.