US to Host Zurich A Mini-Ministerial Next Month

Geneva * The United States will host an informal trade ministerial meeting on October 10 in Zurich to accelerate the flagging Doha trade negotiations ahead of crucial trade negotiations committee and General Council meetings next month, WTD has learned (WTD, 9/19/05).

Washington is expected to use the event to sound out reaction from some key World Trade Organization members on a possible understanding on agricultural trade among the so-called new "quad" countries * the United States, the European Union, Brazil and India * scheduled to meet in Paris on Friday.

In what is described as the meeting of the "Fluella" group of trade ministers * who attended a breakfast meeting convened by the former United States trade representative Robert Zoellick in a restaurant called Fluella in Davos in January * the one-day meeting is expected to enlarge the circle of consensus among the four "quad" members to a larger grouping of key WTO members. The United States has invited 14 trade ministers drawn from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, the European Union, India, Hong Kong, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, Malaysia, Rwanda and South Africa.

US Trade Representative Rob Portman will chair the meeting in which WTO Director General Pascal Lamy and WTO General Council chairperson Amina Mohamed are expected to participate, an Asian diplomat said.

The meeting is expected to focus largely on agriculture and market access for industrials. It would be followed by a senior officials meeting being convened by Japan in Geneva.