Grassley: World Trade Organization talks in Geneva

Statement

GRASSLEY: WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION TALKS IN GENEVA

Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance of the U.S. Senate, made the following response to remarks from Kamal Nath, India's minister of commerce and industry, at the World Trade Organization talks in Geneva.


"Minister Nath is right that it's the collaborative responsibility of all members to achieve a successful outcome. That includes India. He said he wasn't there to hand out ‘freebies' without getting something in return. Neither is the United States. I was disappointed to hear him say there's been little progress in the area of domestic support for agriculture. The United States offered to go from its $48 billion in allowable domestic support down to $15 billion. If that's not a dramatic offer, I don't know what is. The United States is showing substantial leadership to move these negotiations forward. Now we need to see a reciprocal demonstration of ambition on new market access commitments from our major trading partners, including advanced developing countries like India, Brazil, Argentina, and China. If that happens, we might just have a successful round. But if other countries don't match the U.S. level of ambition, this week's ministerial will grind to a halt, and fast. After almost seven years of the Doha round, it would be a shame to waste this opportunity."

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