U.S. business lobbyists launch WTO offensive

GENEVA, April 4 (Reuters) - U.S. business lobbyists will descend on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) this month to push for favourable terms in a new trade deal, especially in services, a source familiar with the visits said on Friday.

The visits by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the American Business Coalition for Doha (ABCDoha) and the Coalition of Services Industries (CSI) are a sign the long-running Doha round is approaching its moment of truth.

A memorandum from CSI President Bob Vastine, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, shows the United States believes it is now making progress in talks on the crucial services sector with Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Egypt and Turkey, but still faces difficulties with China, India and Southeast Asian states.

WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said on Thursday that ministers were likely to meet by the end of May to hammer out an outline deal on the Doha round, launched in late 2001.

That meeting, first proposed for late March or early April, has been held up by negotiations on technical aspects of the agriculture talks.

Six major food exporters and importers presented a long-delayed proposal on Friday on how sensitive farm products could be shielded from the full force of tariff cuts.

But other countries need more time to see how the proposal would work, and figure out how much extra access to markets they would get. Negotiations on the scheme and other farm issues such as tropical products will continue for most of next week.

Ministers meeting in Geneva would aim to agree on politically sensitive headline figures for tariff and subsidy cuts in the core areas of agriculture and industrial goods, and major exceptions to them.

SEEKING "SIGNALLING CONFERENCE"

But rich and poor countries interested in services such as post and courier delivery, banking and telecoms -- including the United States, the European Union and India -- also insist the ministerial meeting must include a "signalling conference" where nations can clarify their intentions on liberalising services.

Services account for two thirds of world output, but because of barriers to trading them, services exports were equivalent to only 5 percent of world GDP in 2006.

The United States had bilateral meetings on services with 11 key developing countries last month, amid concern that services were being neglected as negotiators focused on agriculture and industry, Vastine's memo said.

"The U.S. is now in the process of continuing the 'signalling process' through follow-up calls, capital visits and videconferences with officials of the 11 countries to attempt to identify where additional improvements might be made," it said.

The source said the service businesses had made clear to developing countries they would withhold their support -- crucial for getting congressional backing in Washington for an overall Doha deal -- unless they saw progress in the services negotiations.

The willingness of some developing countries to liberalise services depends both on the outcome of the agriculture and industry talks, and on U.S. readiness to allow in more temporary workers from developing countries -- the central demand of poor nations in the services talks.

Vastine's memo called on services sector businesses to push for liberalisation under the Doha round via their own contacts in emerging markets. He said the most important of these are China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand.

"CSI members with operations in any of those countries are urged to make the case through their government contacts as to how that country will gain from services liberalisation and from a successful conclusion to the Doha Round," he said.

The CSI, joined by service sector lobbyists from Canada and European countries, will meet a range of WTO ambassadors and officials in Geneva on April 16-17, after similar meetings by NAM and ABCDoha earlier in the week.

ABCDoha, whose members, including Exxon Mobil , Coca-Cola, IBM and Wal-Mart Stores, are a roll call of U.S. business, said in a letter to Lamy five weeks ago that a successful Doha Round required progress in all three sectors of agriculture, industry and services.

"Today, world markets are confronting economic and financial uncertainty. Trade is an engine for economic growth, and the successful conclusion of the Doha Round will send an important and timely strong positive signal to world markets," it said. (Editing by Catherine Evans)

Source: Reuters North American News Service