Hong Kong 13-18 Dec. 2005

The Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference  
Hong Kong, China, 13 to 18 December 2005.

In a sign of potentially serious trouble, Africa's near destitute cotton producers warned they would refuse to endorse any consensus here if rich countries did not agree to cut the subsidies that undermine their exports.

"We came here to get concrete results, not to hear more proposals that will never be respected," Ibrahim Malloum, head of the African Cotton Producers Association, told reporters.

The African cotton producers, angry at the continued heavy subsidies paid to farmers in the developed world, especially in the United States, were a major factor in the collapse of the 2003 WTO meeting in Cancun, Mexico.

Malloum said he did not want to see a repeat in Hong Kong but "if we don't get a concrete result, Africa will not be able to go along with a consensus."

The cotton issue comes up for discussion later Wednesday.

"It's a very sensitive issue and there is a lot of emotion," an Australian trade official noted.

The cotton issue came up as 149 World Trade Organisation delegates were trying to find a way to bridge long-standing disputes on trade in farm products, industrial goods and services.

The likelihood of any major breakthrough was already slim because of deep-seated differences between the European Union and the United States, and between developed and developing countries, over farm trade and market access.

Speaking Wednesday, the United States said it was looking ahead to a new WTO meeting to break the deadlock in the Doha Round of trade talks, which were launched in Qatar in 2001 and are due to be completed by the end of 2006.

"We should not leave without setting a date -- early next year -- to come together again to break the deadlock so our negotiators can complete the work by the end of 2006," said US Trade Representative Rob Portman.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson reiterated that Europe would offer no bigger concessions on agriculture subsidies and tariffs, putting pressure on its trading partners to move first.

"We need much, much more on the table," he said, seeking reciprocal proposals to open up market access for the developed world's industrial goods and services to match the EU's offer on farm products.

The EU and US also exchanged barbs over another irritant -- food aid reform, with an EU official telling reporters: "Food aid policies are being exploited for commercial interest."

The US was quick to reply.

"The fact of the matter is that the European Union does some very good work in development but in terms of food assistance, they're missing in action," said a US official, speaking on background.

Outside the fenced-off conference centre on the waterfront there was an overwhelming police and security presence after some 5,000 people marched Tuesday to denounce the WTO as a rich man's club.

Early Wednesday, around 20 militant South Korean farmers, closely followed by around 150 press photographers, tried briefly to force their way through police lines.

The protesters managed to tear away several police riot shields before they were forced to retreat by pepper foam and a baton charge. The shields were later returned to the officers.

In his address to the WTO plenary session, Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai said the poorest nations should get preferential treatment in any new global trade pact.

"If rural populations who are already in poverty are exposed to more serious negative impact, disasters can be triggered. Developed countries wouldn't be free of trouble either," Bo warned.

China announced earlier it would cut import tariffs on more than 100 categories of goods from January 1 to honor its WTO commitments.

The announcement followed a report by the US Trade Representative's office which said that although China had taken steps to repeal or revise more than 1,000 laws and regulations to meet WTO obligations, the fact that it continued to manage trade remained a problem.