U.S., China Try to Salvage WTO Talks
Top U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators will meet today for what could be make-or-break talks on Beijing’s bid to join the World Trade Organization. Although few expect a WTO agreement to be struck at the Washington meeting, U.S. officials are counting on Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky and her Chinese counterpart, Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng, to narrow their differences. If talks founder, a pact ushering China into the world trade body could be dead for the year. Beijing’s accession would leave a lasting mark on U.S. trade policy and Bill Clinton’s legacy as president and give American business leaders what they so desperately want--access to China’s vast market, potentially the world’s largest with 1.2 billion consumers. The deadline for China’s accession is widely seen as late November, when WTO ministers launch the next round of global trade talks in Seattle. Any delay could leave Beijing shut out of the global trading body for years. (Reuters)
* A plan to cancel up to $27 billion in debt owed by the world’s most desperately poor countries won key financial backing from major industrial governments Sunday, clearing the way for funds that now flow to foreign creditors to instead stay home to pay for schools and clinics. Gordon Brown, Britain’s top finance official and chairman of an International Monetary Fund group overseeing the plan, said that enough pledges had arrived over the weekend to begin the program soon. Firm numbers for donor contributions will be announced this week during the IMF’s annual meeting in Washington. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan is scheduled to address the body today.
