U.S. Abandons WTO Talks on Liberalizing Shipping

In a new blow to the global trading system, the United States on Friday effectively walked out of talks on liberalizing ports and shipping services.

U.S. negotiator Peter Collins told members of the World Trade Organization that market-opening offers from other countries “fell woefully short of objectives.”

The only countries that had made adequate offers were industrialized countries with no shipping industries to defend, he said. Consequently, the U.S. would not make an offer and he could not foresee any change to this position.

Members of the World Trade Organization have been trying for two years to conclude a trade pact that would open shipping and port services to competition, thereby slashing prices.

Foreign shipping companies, for example, want to be allowed to transport merchandise from ships directly to destinations in their own company trucks. Current domination by politically powerful monopolies prevent this.

The U.S. move caused uproar among key trading partners.

European Union representative Karl Falkenberg said the EU did not accept the latest development as a final U.S. decision.

“We have high-level assurances from Secretary of State Warren Christopher that the U.S. will review their position in the light of a package emerging. We expect the U.S. to honor their commitment,” he told reporters.

Japan said the U.S. statement violated fair play.

A lack of offers to dismantle port trading barriers has dogged the negotiations. Washington had not even tabled new proposals, and many analysts had already written off the talks as a nonstarter.

A flurry of new offers, however, had led some delegations to find new optimism over recent weeks.

One trade envoy, who did not wish to be named, said some delegations at the meeting had suggested that the 40 countries that have made market-opening offers should go ahead without the United States.

“The world has changed and [the Americans] don’t seem to realize it,” the envoy said. “We don’t have to wait for them every time we want to do something.”

Still, given its strength in world ocean shipping, a pact without the United States may have minimal value, the diplomats said.

With talks on liberalizing banking, insurance and other financial services and on liberalizing telecommunications both ending in failure after a U.S. walkout, several delegations accused the United States of a “systematic boycott.”