US stance on world trade deals seen hardening

U.S. stance on world trade deals seen hardening
Tue Aug 7, 2007 4:17PM EDT


NAPA, California (Reuters) - The appetite for trade deals in the United States is fading and the window to strike an agreement in the Doha round of farm talks is closing, analysts and lawmakers said Tuesday.
"There is a growing protectionist side in both political parties," Jim Wiesemeyer, vice-president of farm and trade policy at Informa Economics, said in a speech at the annual meeting of the industry group American Sugar Alliance here.
He said progress must be made in the Doha round of farm talks by the end of the month or there is a risk that a watered-down version of the trade agreement will be the result in what he called "Doha lite."
"The days of the multilateral (trade agreements) are over," he said, adding that agricultural powerhouses like Brazil and India are more interested in what they can derive from a deal but have made few concessions in getting something done. "They want to get and not give."
His sentiment was echoed in part by lawmakers who attended the conference of the U.S. sugar industry.
"Our biggest challenge in the next few years is what happens in trade," said Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) who quickly added that any deal must be fair for American farmers as well.
He said that he is increasingly looking at the idea that trade deals entered into by the United States should also look at labor rules and environmental standards.
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minnesota) groused that the Doha round of talks is "proceeding at a snail's pace" and pacts with countries like South Korea would have to deal with issues like beef sales to the North Asian country which were affected by lingering fears over mad cow disease.

© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved.