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Global trade talks shift to New Delhi; US may lift ban
on Indian mango news |
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| 11 April 2007 |
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 Mumbai:
Trade ministers from four trading powers have kicked
off a two-day meeting aimed at galvanising the Doha
Round of world trade talks.
The United States, the European Union, India and Brazil
have started bilateral talks ahead of their first four-way
meeting since July when the World Trade Organisation
(WTO) negotiations all but collapsed over agriculture.
EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson said he was entering
the talks with an open mind. "Always positive,
always on the front foot. Always showing flexibility,
and I will do my best to sustain that position on the
European Union''s behalf," he told reporters.
A statement from the ministry of commerce, hosting the
talks, said the ministers were expected to discuss areas
of convergence as well as steps needed "to enable
a successful conclusion of the Doha Round."
The US is trying to woo India in the global trade arena
by promising greater access to the American consumer
market by lifting the ban on its mangoes. For years,
the US has refused to import them because they didn''t
meet sanitary conditions.
Last year, President Bush promised to change that. And
now, the US is sharing the costs of irradiating the
fruits to rid them of pests.
This
will be the first gathering of trade ministers from
the G-4 nations since the Doha talks collapsed last
July. That''s when Washington refused to give ground
on cutting subsidies for farmers. The stakes are high
because President Bush''s trade promotion authority will
expire at the end of June.
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