Trade talks breakdown but Australia will fight on

The breakdown of trade talks in Germany between the United States, European Union, India and Brazil is very disappointing, the Australian Government Minister for Trade, Warren Truss, said today.

Nevertheless, Australia remained strongly committed to finding a way forward in the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Doha negotiations.

Mr Truss, speaking from Potsdam in Germany, said the failure of the meeting, collectively known as the G4, was a setback for world trade reform and the hopes and ambitions of countries like Australia and the Cairns Group of agricultural exporting nations.

“We have to remember that this G4 and G6 process (G6 includes the G4 plus Australia and Japan) was one step on the way to achieve a broader agreement among all WTO Members,” Mr Truss said.

“As it turned out, talks broke down among the G4 members in Potsdam on Thursday - even before the G6 process began.

“There are obviously different perspectives from each of the members of the G4 on the causes of the breakdown of their meeting but a common theme of the accounts, however, is that there was disagreement on the overall ambition and balance of the package.

“My perspective continues to be that we can only successfully conclude this Round with an ambitious result on agriculture, industrials and services. To do this, everyone has to make a contribution - developed and developing countries alike.

“I have just held meetings with the trade ministers of the United States and the European Union, as well as with the US agriculture secretary. While our disappointment with the result of the meeting was obvious, I urged all to remain committed to the Doha negotiations.

“All WTO Members will now need to decide how to make progress together on the trade talks in Geneva. This process will start with a meeting in Geneva tomorrow called by WTO Director General, Pascal Lamy.

“The APEC meeting of trade ministers that Australia will host in Cairns on the 5^th and 6^th of July has now firmed as an important opportunity for key ministers to discuss how to move forward in the Round,” Mr Truss said.

Media Inquiries: Minister Truss' office 02 6277 7420 - Departmental Media Liaison 02 6261 1555