Europe upbeat on new WTO round, Asians cautious

Europe upbeat on new WTO round, Asians cautious

HANOI (Reuters): Europe talked up the likelihood of a new world trade round this year as it began economic meetings with Asia on Monday, but Asian officials warned of hard bargaining to address developing countries' concerns.

A week of meetings in Hanoi will involve trade and economic ministers and senior officials from 15 European Union (EU) countries, the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

The European Union and the United States want to launch a new round of world trade liberalization talks at a Nov. 9-13 meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Doha, Qatar, a move they hope will help boost a flagging world economy.

They expressed optimism about this possibility after a meeting in Mexico earlier this month involving ministers from both the developed and the developing world.

However, Southeast Asian officials in Hanoi, while saying their countries generally back the launching of a new round, stressed there were some major hurdles that would have to be overcome if that was to happen in Qatar in November.

The Europeans have pledged flexibility, but Thailand has said positions were still far apart on five core issues -- environment, investment, competition policy, implementation and agriculture.

"There's not much improvement. There's still no improvement," Boontipa Simaskul, director general of the Thai Commerce Ministry's department of business economics, told Reuters.

"When you compare the position of ASEAN developing countries to others, they are not so aggressive as the Indians, or others," she said. "(But) we will inform them of what we think is important for us, and which issues we cannot support."

Indonesia's Trade and Industry Minister Rini Soewandi told Reuters that Jakarta basically supported the launch of a new round in Doha, but with certain conditions.

Philippines Assistant Secretary for Trade Jose Antonio Buencamino said on Friday changes to WTO rules proposed by developed countries covering investment and the environment were non-starters,and that Manila also had serious concerns about an EU proposal on food safety.

EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said last week before coming to Hanoi the active support of the Asian countries would be essential if a new trade round were to be launched in Qatar.

Last week, France sounded a discordant European note when it suggested the efforts to launch a new round in Qatar might fail and the EU had better have an alternative plan ready.

But EU officials in Hanoi remained optimistic. One said, referring to the Asian statements: "Of course in all statements to the press there are always tactics."

"Definitely we think a new round will be started and we are optimistic that it will be a round with an agenda satisfactory to the EU," said the official.

France's State Secretary of Commerce Francois Huwart, speaking to reporters in Hanoi, rejected speculation Paris was reluctant to make concessions on agricultural policy before its presidential and legislative elections early next year.

But he said France was being realistic about the difficulties and much work had to be done if the trade round was to be started in Qatar. Prospects would only become more clear when a draft agreement was ready in the next few weeks, he said.

"I know that the less advanced countries are still very worried about their place in the multilateral system and we have to wait until the beginning of October for a better view, the first draft, when we have a text," he said. "I am cautious."

The EU official conceded drafting a declaration for Doha would be difficult. "A good atmosphere is one thing, but agreeing on texts of mandates is a little bit more difficult," he said.