AG DELEGATES AWAIT CHAIR'S 'HARD TALK' PAPER

WTO agriculture negotiators are awaiting a 'hard talk' paper from the chair of the contentious farm trade talks, due to be circulated on 26 or 27 April. The paper is expected to present delegations with a series of tough questions or 'puzzles' aimed at assessing where they stand on the "central questions of the negotiations."

However, one negotiator admitted that "everyone's in the dark" about precisely what the paper would look like, noting that Chair Ambassador Crawford Falconer (New Zealand) had given few hints about its structure or format.

Trade diplomats nonetheless emphasized that the paper would mark an important shift in the negotiations, focused less on the secretive meetings between the 'G-4' group of major players (the US, EU, Brazil and India) and more on the multilateral process in Geneva. Stepped-up exchanges between these countries are now expected to contribute directly to the multilateral talks. "We are entering the decisive phase now," one delegate said.

Falconer intends eventually to revise his draft modalities paper from June 2006 into a text that could become the basis for future negotiations and an agreement. The draft from last year effectively compiled virtually every negotiating proposal, indicating hundreds of areas where negotiators would still have to reach agreement. The 'hard talk' questions paper is not expected to resemble the modalities document, but will instead help the chair assess delegations' positions on the figures and formulae for tariff and subsidy cuts and exceptions to them.

At time of writing, delegates were not expecting to receive a copy of the paper at a 25 April informal meeting of the negotiating committee. However, Falconer has indicated that he would circulate the paper within a day or two of this gathering, which would mean delegates would be able to discuss it at the following session, planned for 4 May. Different country coalitions have already scheduled meetings to talk about their response, said sources.

WTO Members must reach consensus before the summer break to avoid risking a permanent suspension of the talks, argued one negotiator. "If we reach [agreement] now, that's it; if not, that's it too".

ICTSD reporting.

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WTO DISPUTE PANEL TO INVESTIGATE INDIAN WINE, SPIRITS TARIFFS IN SPAT WITH EU

A WTO dispute panel was created on 24 April to investigate the EU's complaint against Indian duties and taxes on foreign wines and spirits. New Delhi blocked the EU's first request at an 11 April meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), but was prevented by WTO rules from doing so a second time.

The crux of the dispute is a series of additional charges that the EU claims that New Delhi applies to imported wines and spirits, pushing total taxes as high as 264 to 550 percent - well in excess of the country's bound tariff ceilings of 150 percent (see BRIDGES Weekly, 7 March 2007).

In response to protests from EU wine and spirits producers eager to tap into India's large and rapidly growing market, Brussels has raised the issue repeatedly with New Delhi in recent years, finally lodging a WTO complaint in November 2006. India's delegation told the DSB meeting that it was "disappointed" with the EU's decision to seek the creation of a dispute panel since the two sides had held "constructive, fruitful consultations" in search of a settlement, reports the Associated Press.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson noted last month that Brussels was "not closing the door on an amicable solution," but said that "the ball is now in India's court."

Washington too filed a similar WTO complaint against the Indian duties and taxes on 6 March. While is has not yet asked for a panel to formally investigate its claims, it has not ruled out doing so, and is urging New Delhi to withdraw the offending measures.

EU's (WT/DS352/4) and US's (WT/DS360/1) requests are available at docsonline.wto.org.

ICTSD reporting; 'India stalls EU's WTO probe attempt on Indian liquor' DOMAIN B.COM, 12 April 2007; "United States Files WTO Case Against India Challenging Excessive Duties on U.S. Wine and Spirits" US TRADE R Press Release, 6 March, 2007 "WTO Panel to Probe India's Import Duties," ASSOCIATED PRESS, 24 April 2007; "WTO to investigate Indian wine, spirit duties," REUTERS, 24 April 2007.