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Doha world trade talks collapse in blow to globalisation
The Telegraph ^ | 7/29/2008 | Edmund Conway

Posted on 07/29/2008 4:20:17 PM PDT by bruinbirdman

The Doha round of world trade talks has collapsed in what one former trade chief called the biggest blow to globalisation since the end of the Cold War.

An emergency World Trade Organisation summit aimed at resuscitating the seven-year long talks broke down in acrimony last night.

Negotiators warned that there was now little or no chance of salvaging the talks, which promised to bring down trade tariffs, pull millions out of poverty and keep food and goods prices under control.

It is the first time a major set of world trade talks has collapsed entirely, and insiders warned that the consequences would be comparatively weaker economic growth and a less globalised world in the coming years.

Insiders said the talks had stumbled after the United States, China and India failed to compromise on the size of their agricultural tariffs.

After nine days of emergency talks in Geneva, WTO chief Pascal Lamy broke the news to ministers from the seven biggest trading blocs that the talks had failed.

At the centre of the dispute were so-called “safeguard clauses” which allowed developing nations to slap emergency tariffs on imports if they suddenly jumped to unmanageable levels.

US negotiators apparently balked at Indian and Chinese proposals to trigger these safeguards on their cotton exports.

European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said: “We have missed the chance to seal the first global pact of a reshaped world order. We would all have been winners from a Doha deal. Without one, we all lose.”

“This is deeply disturbing,” he said. “Years of negotiation which were and are important for globalisation have been sacrificed by this failure. And there would appear to be no short-term fix.”

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: doha; globalism; trade; wto

1 posted on 07/29/2008 4:20:17 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
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To: bruinbirdman

> a less globalised world
Yes. There is a God.


2 posted on 07/29/2008 4:22:34 PM PDT by BuffaloJack
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To: bruinbirdman

I swear that I heard the Lew Dobbs radio show today report that Washington agreed to “unlimited” migrant labor for the U.S. “Unlimited” or at least extremely high quotas.


3 posted on 07/29/2008 4:24:36 PM PDT by WilliamofCarmichael (If modern America's Man on Horseback is out there, Get on the damn horse already!)
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To: bruinbirdman
Years of negotiation which were and are important for globalisation have been sacrificed by this failure.

GOOD!

4 posted on 07/29/2008 4:36:19 PM PDT by HKMk23
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To: bruinbirdman

Boo hoo hoo. This is so sad. :-((


5 posted on 07/29/2008 4:43:47 PM PDT by AndyJackson
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To: WilliamofCarmichael

Lou Dobbs is a liar and nut who like most demagogues knows better but believes the way to popularity is to play to people’s fears.


6 posted on 07/29/2008 4:53:12 PM PDT by Libertarianize the GOP (Make all taxes truly voluntary)
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To: bruinbirdman
European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said: “We have missed the chance to seal the first global pact of a reshaped world order. We would all have been winners from a Doha deal. Without one, we all lose.”

I'll drink to that! Prost!

“This is deeply disturbing,” he said. “Years of negotiation which were and are important for globalization have been sacrificed by this failure. And there would appear to be no short-term fix.

Good, actually VERY good. The hell with this "globalization" horse sh!t!

7 posted on 07/29/2008 4:56:27 PM PDT by danmar (Tomorrow's life is too late. Live today!)
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To: bruinbirdman

What isn’t widely enough discussed is how France torpedoes the EU’s position. France is not going to cut their subsidies, and they’re pulling more and more EU nations over to their position.

Add in the inflexibility of the PRC and India and there’s no way that even our “give away the candy store” trade negotiators were going to move forward.

As I’ve said before here on FR: none of the big players are going to unilaterally disarm on ag subsidies. Everyone in these trade talks keeps saying “you first” and when the talks fall apart, there’s just circular finger-pointing.


8 posted on 07/29/2008 5:17:01 PM PDT by NVDave
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To: NVDave; All
I will rile up the free trade lobby here, but we should remember our federal gov was paid for by tariffs for most the the USA’s history.,after WWI we moved to taxing income.
The big lie swallowed by most is that shipping manufacturing overseas and becoming a service economy was good for America..far from it as China and most of the world knows lose your manufacturing base and you become dependent on others..the result is massive debt which can hide the loss of wealth for a while, and give a false picture of economic health, which the FREE TRADERS keep telling us we have low unemployment, without adding in the drain on the dollar and the tap dance needed to keep the USA out of default on our massive debt and balance of trade deficit..
IMO one worlder’s think by sending our wealth overseas we are bribing the world to keep peace a stupid bet we will
pay dearly for..
IF any politician stood up and told the American people we will put high tariffs on ALL imports and did it -that in itself would
pull millions of good jobs back to the USA and create real wealth where we now have massive debts.
The USA does not have to export anything we are the biggest consumer nation in the world, those countries that trade with us would soon make deals to gain entry to our markets..every one the free traders has it wrong: the world needs us much more than we need their "Cheap imports" Simple and true.
9 posted on 07/29/2008 5:54:06 PM PDT by shadowgovernment (From the Ashes of a Republican rout will raise a Conservative Party)
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To: bruinbirdman

God is a Nationalist.


10 posted on 07/29/2008 6:00:29 PM PDT by FlyVet
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To: Libertarianize the GOP
Well I have never seen Dobbs' TV show (no TV). I find it hard to believe that he is wrong about everything. Mostly I like his radio show but am not a regular listener.

He did report that the talks collapsed and "his people" reported on the air about some kind of migrant labor agreement [my term "migrant labor"] -- I cannot find anything on that. I do recall that they all urged listeners to contact Congress to stop the labor agreement [my term "labor agreement"]. I do not recall the exact words used to describe the "agreement."

Moving on to all who may be interested..

What a great article this is!

It is not the evil rich countries swingeing the poor "developing" countries. IT NEVER REALLY WAS ENTIRELY THE FAULT OF THE DEVELOPED COUNTRIES! imo.

"The trade row finally destroyed the fiction beloved by development charities and poverty lobbysits that we live in a world divided between North and South, or rich and poor . . . It is small wonder that India and China are championing the cause of peasants, because governments in both countries fear the wrath of rural communities [600 million in one and 800 million in the other] suffering from rising fuel and food prices and the cost of credit."

My emphasis.

11 posted on 07/29/2008 6:31:39 PM PDT by WilliamofCarmichael (If modern America's Man on Horseback is out there, Get on the damn horse already!)
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To: AndyJackson

Thank God for a less Globalized World. I am more afraid of the globalists than I am of the terrorists. Obama is a globalist, and he is hoping to give away, without charge, the wealth of this nation to his poor African friends.
See Senate bill 2433. He wants just to give away 845 million dollars, even at at time when we can not take care of Americans desperate needs.


12 posted on 07/29/2008 7:07:17 PM PDT by tessalu
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To: WilliamofCarmichael
"He did report that the talks collapsed and "his people" reported on the air about some kind of migrant labor agreement [my term "migrant labor"] -- I cannot find anything on that. I do recall that they all urged listeners to contact Congress to stop the labor agreement [my term "labor agreement"]. I do not recall the exact words used to describe the "agreement." "

I have found this here: The Sydney Morning Herold (AFP)

"States were called to Saturday's talks to indicate how far they will open markets in areas such as international telephone calls and the migration of workers, notably information technology consultants.

EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson offered a minimum of 80,000 temporary visas per year for foreign workers in the services sector, a diplomatic source said.

Schwab offered to broaden the number of US sectors open to foreign workers, following a tightening of US legislation after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

In return, Washington called for other countries to scrap limits on how much of a company's capital can be held by foreigners, the source said.

Brazil, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan and Thailand all said they would be willing to discuss this, the source added.

Mandelson also referred to "some interesting" offers from China and India.

Anything approved by the 35 parties here would still have to be cleared by all 153 WTO member states. A new global deal can only be adopted with unanimity."

-------------------------------------------------------------

yitbos

13 posted on 07/29/2008 8:28:46 PM PDT by bruinbirdman ("Those who control language control minds." - Ayn Rand)
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To: bruinbirdman
Thank you very much! Now I recall that Dobbs and his TV production people -- they always preview the TV show during the last few minutes of the radio show -- did mention India and its stake in being able to send more and more workers to the U.S. tech industry.

Thanks again and it looks like the H1B fight is on (again!).

14 posted on 07/29/2008 9:05:38 PM PDT by WilliamofCarmichael (If modern America's Man on Horseback is out there, Get on the damn horse already!)
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To: bruinbirdman

Tariffs=Taxes=Bad


15 posted on 07/29/2008 11:33:25 PM PDT by Impy (Spellcheck hates Obama, you should too.)
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To: bruinbirdman
Caught a CSPAN replay of an interview with Pat Choate , ( VP Candidate with Ross Perot), and he has a new Book out.

He sees the Collapse of the DOHA Round as an opportunity for some Major changes in the Export of American Jobs....

Amazon Link:

Dangerous Business: The Risks of Globalization for America

16 posted on 08/17/2008 1:45:25 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (No Burkas for my Grandaughters!)
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