Thaindian News

By Arun Kumar
Washington, June 17 (IANS) Accusing India, China and Brazil of posing as “key roadblock” in the Doha world trade talks, the US has asked them “to accept the responsibility that goes along with their growing roles in the global economy”.

“The success or failure of the Doha Round depends on whether advanced developing countries like China, India, and Brazil will accept the responsibility that goes along with their growing roles in the global economy,” US Deputy Trade Representative Demetrois Marantis said in an address to mark the 25th annual World Trade Day in Rhode Island Wednesday.

In the world trade talks, “the United States continues to lead efforts to shake loose the economic promise of an agreement with real market access for all involved”, he said. But “today, the key roadblock is the continued resistance of some important partners to engage in sustained, meaningful negotiations”.

The Obama administration, he said is gearing up to host the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), “a grouping that includes 21 economies representing” more than half the global economic output and almost half the world trade forum”, in 2011.

International trade and exports as a driver of sustainable economic growth and creator of good jobs in America in all industries was central to the Obama administration’s agenda of creating new and better jobs for Americans around the country, Marantis said.

The challenge before the US is “to realise economic opportunities and take on new competitors, we need to improve our game”, he said.

But “while we work to create new opportunities through new agreements, enforcing the agreements we have is as important as new negotiating new initiatives,” Marantis said asserting that the US “won’t hesitate to use every tool at our disposal to defend American businesses and workers hurt by unfair trade practices”.

“We seek to resolve concerns through negotiation and agreement where we can. But we also are prepared to make use of the full range of enforcement options where necessary, including WTO dispute settlement,” he said.

After success in a WTO case that led “China to eliminate more than 70 measures that give illegal export subsidies to a huge range of Chinese exports”, Marantis said the US was now pursuing another complaint against Beijing’s export restraints on key raw materials.