US offers flexibility in WTO talks on food security

The United States today gave some ground on the contentious issue of food security in world trade talks in hopes of gaining at least some progress toward a limited new WTO pact this year.
The US Trade Representative, which has been pressing for freer trade in food in hopes of boosting US exports, said it could agree that food security is a valid issue to be dealt with under the World Trade Organisation talks.
The issue, which had put especially the United States and India at loggerheads, has threatened to stymie the negotiations toward even a limited new WTO pact targeted for December's WTO ministerial meeting in Bali.

"The United States agrees with India and other proponents that enhancing food security in developing countries is indeed an important issue for this body to address," the USTR said in a statement.
"Indeed, trade-related food security should be a top priority for future WTO work on agriculture."
The USTR said that Washington would agree to the launch in Bali of a "work program" to examine in detail the trade-related issues of food security.

"We look forward to working with India and other members to discuss such a work program, in order to see addressed important issues associated with food security."

The US said the programme would cover security-related public stocks of food, price-setting, and the role of markets, public subsidies, export controls, and other issues.
"Indeed, these complex and important issues need to be a part of this discussion."
Washington offered flexibility in several other areas of negotiations as it hoped to avoid the failure of even a "small package" agreement in Bali as the ongoing "Doha" round of talks for a new master global trade agreement have bogged down since they were launched in 2001.
In early April, the US warned the WTO's Trade Negotiating Committee, meeting in Geneva, that if members did not all show some flexibility, "the current path of talks would lead directly to failure at Bali," the statement said.

"And if Bali fails, it is hard to imagine how Doha can succeed," it said.
"A number of Members are putting forward their own flexibilities. This is what is needed to secure a Bali outcome: nations with the will to make tough decisions to advance the text.