Bid to Lower Tariffs, Trade Barriers Gets Nowhere

An effort by the world’s richest countries to breathe new life into global trade negotiations fell short Thursday as trade ministers from the United States, Japan, the European Community and Canada failed to reach agreement on a package of measures to lower tariffs and other trade barriers.

The development marks a setback for the talks, an ambitious effort to liberalize world trade rules that has dragged on for seven years. The Clinton Administration had hoped for a breakthrough before President Clinton visits Tokyo next month for a summit with other world leaders.

The ministers scheduled another meeting for July 6 at which they expect to produce an accord, but it remains to be seen whether the result is sufficiently impressive to give the hoped-for momentum to the negotiations on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

The ministers--U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor and his Japanese, EC and Canadian counterparts--had hoped to agree Thursday on a sweeping set of tariff cuts and other “market access” measures, with each side making painful political sacrifices for the common economic good.