9 March 2006
The Brazilian President and the PM issued a joint statement on trade following talks in Downing Street.
Parts of this transcript may have been edited
Read the statement in full:
During our talks today we discussed the Doha Development Round. Our view is that there is little disagreement within the WTO on the scale of the prize within our grasp. We believe that a successful round could lift millions out of poverty, deliver economic gains of as much as $600bn a year and show that globalisation can work for the benefit of the poor as well as the rich. But there has, to date, been no agreement on what’s needed to achieve it.
Despite some progress on development and agreement on an end date for export subsidies, Hong Kong did not agree modalities on agriculture and NAMA as we had hoped. But new deadlines were set for achieving these. Time is now running out. There are crucial meetings in the coming weeks at which we hope progress will be made. But we need more leadership from all sides.
We agreed today that we share a common view of the main elements of an ambitious, pro development, outcome from the round. Current offers on the table fall far short of the deal we want. We believe that all the main parties in the talks need to take bold steps to go beyond established negotiating positions to improve their offers on agricultural market access and domestic support, NAMA and services. Those offers must also take account of the needs of developing countries by delivering improved market access in both agricultural and non-agricultural goods that is comparably high, but in a balanced and proportionate manner, consistent with the principle of special and differential treatment.
We also agreed on the importance of a bold development package that includes substantial aid for trade, a timetable for 100% free access for LDCs, changes to rules of origin, special products and action on specific commodities such as cotton and sugar.
This will take courage and involve risks. We could fail. But the cost of inaction is even more stark, not just for the poor and global growth but also for multilateral system and our vision of a more open democratic world.
Our view is that a meeting of leaders will be crucial to orchestrate this breakthrough. Gleneagles showed the world that political leaders not only care about world poverty but are capable of acting together to help eliminate it. We now have to show the same vision and courage on trade.
We agreed to consult intensively with colleagues in our respective groups and urge them to join us in this quest by making the necessary offers to achieve an ambitious pro-development package. We also agreed to work together to create the necessary conditions for a leaders meeting to unblock the negotiations.
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