No dramatic change in pace of WTO talks after Obama election

Global trade negotiators are not expecting any dramatic change in the pace of the Doha Round of WTO talks with the election of Barack Obama as US President, a senior Commerce Ministry official said today.     

While all eyes are on the next Treasury Secretary in the midst of the global downturn, Geneva (WTO headquarters) would be keenly watching as to who the new US Trade Representative (USTR) would be.     

"The question is ... they (US) have to appoint a new USTR," the official said, adding the picture would be clear only after some policy announcements are made when the new American administration takes over.     

Present USTR Susan Schwab has maintained a tough stand on the issue of seeking market access, both in agriculture and industrial products, for American growers and manufacturers from developing countries.     

However, resistance from countries like India, China, South Africa and Brazil has been holding up progress in the multilateral talks.     

Talks in Geneva, the last serious effort by the Bush administration along with other developed countries for reaching a world trade deal, in July this year, collapsed after India and the US locked horns on the issue of protection to farmers in the developing countries.     

"There is a process going on in Geneva ... no amount of button pushing from the (national) capitals is going to accelerate that process ... it has a traction of its own," the official said.