| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: Eric Thomas
The Fratelli Group
202-822-9491 |
| July 7, 2006 |
|
Ambassador Schwab Briefs U.S. Business Community on the
Status of WTO Talks.
Washington, DC - The American Business Coalition for Doha
(ABCDoha) today hosted a briefing by United States Trade Representative
Susan Schwab on the status of WTO negotiations. The business
coalition expressed profound disappointment that WTO members
failed to move talks past the current impasse. "There has
been little substantive progress over past few months of negotiation,"
said Scott Miller, Director, Global Trade Policy for Procter
& Gamble and a co-chair of ABCDoha. "Meetings last week in
Geneva only highlighted the seriousness of the problem. The
Doha Round is in trouble."
ABCDoha represents more than 200 leading U.S. companies,
associations, and other organizations who understand that
the opportunity of multilateral trade negotiations only comes
around once in a generation. For that reason, coalition members
representing U.S. business, farmers and service-providers
will continue to insist on a net gain in market access as
a precondition for support of a final Doha package.
"U.S. negotiators have heard our message loud and clear
that a deal that creates only minimal new market access for
goods and services would garner little support among U.S.
stakeholders and would be difficult for Congress to support,"
continued Miller. ABCDoha commended Ambassador Schwab for
working to convince other WTO members that an ambitious result
is not only necessary but achievable.
Aggressive global market opening in manufacturing, agriculture
and services would also greatly benefit developing countries
which stand to gain the most from a successful round.
ABCDoha members said that finger-pointing is unproductive
and that negotiators need to look for a fresh and creative
approach before returning to the table. A successful negotiation
involves give and take, and all WTO Members-developed and
developing-must contribute in a meaningful way. If the Doha
Round is allowed to fail, everyone loses.
The American business community remains strongly supportive
of concluding the Doha negotiations this year and pledges
to work constructively toward that goal. "Our priority is
to achieve tangible benefits for American manufacturers, farmers,
and consumers. In the end, that is the benchmark by which
the U.S. business community will measure the success of the
Doha round," concluded Miller.
# # #
|
