WASHINGTON - The United States objected strongly Friday to the European Union's suggestion that Washington is to blame for stalled world trade negotiations and said it was up to Brussels to do more in the talks.
"The (European) Commission is quite adept at speeches, press conferences and finger pointing. We just wish they would put the same energy into the needed negotiations to make Doha a success," Christin Baker, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative's office, told Reuters.
Baker was responding to a speech EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson made on Friday in Helsinki, where he accused the United States of making unrealistic demands in negotiations on reducing global farm tariffs.
"What the U.S. is currently demanding is not acceptable to most WTO members -- representing half of humanity in fact -- and not implementable in Europe," Mandelson said in notes prepared for the speech.
Baker responded that Brussels' proposals for opening markets in Europe and around the world to more farm imports fell short of the objective WTO members have set.
"The members agreed to the standard set in July 2004, which is substantial improvement in market access. The EU offer doesn't get us there," Baker said.
Washington made an ambitious proposal six months ago to cut trade-distorting farm subsidies and agricultural tariffs and is still waiting to see an equally ambitious proposal from Brussels, she said.
The transatlantic sniping came as WTO negotiators already acknowledge they expect to miss an April 30 deadline for agreeing on formulas to reduce farm subsidies and agricultural and manufactured goods tariffs.
The latest in a long series of missed deadlines has renewed questions about whether an agreement can be reached by the end of the year, which has been the goal, or any time beyond that.
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