11/13/08 Farm Bureau Federation sees need for new WTO approach

Farm and Ranch November 13, 2008 Global trade talks known as the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization don't seem much closer to a deal than when negotiators started seven years ago. The American Farm Bureau Federation says there needs to be a new approach. Dave Salmonsen is a trade specialist for the group. Salmonsen: "We want to reduces barriers to trade and keep that process going. We need to find a way to make that happen. Negotiations take their time. You need slow, steady, sober progress but what we are seeing has just been the lack of progress." Salmonsen says Farm Bureau plans to work with other sectors like manufacturing and the service industry to look for ways to jump start the process. Areas for change? Right now to get anything done, all 153 member countries have to agree, which is almost impossible. Farm Bureau says maybe it is time for WTO members to vote on trade proposals. Salmonsen: "There is also this idea in the WTO talks, they call it "single undertaking" and in brief it means that nothing is settled until everything is settled. What it effectively does is you make no progress because you are never sure if everybody has signed onto something and you can move ahead, because some country can always bring up something that has been talked about in the past and want to renegotiate that." Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman says he is optimistic the new administration will welcome ideas for a new approach to advance multi-lateral trade negotiations and open markets consistent with the World Trade Organization. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.