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China signs WTO deal with Latvia, continues talks with EU |
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May 18, 2000
BEIJING, MAY 17 (AP) - Having secured an agreement with Latvia, negotiators seeking to bring China into the World Trade Organization before year's end continued working Wednesday on securing the big prize: a deal with the European Union.
Chinese foreign trade minister Shi Guangsheng and the EU's trade commissioner, Pascal Lamy, met for 2 1/2 hours Wednesday morning, their third day of talks, EU spokesman Anthony Gooch said. Their aides discussed the details throughout the day, and Lamy and Shi were to assess the progress Thursday morning, Gooch said.
"We're negotiating the last bits and given that they're the last bits that means that they are the ones where we've had most difficulty agreeing on since the time we started the negotiations," he said. "It's tough going. It's hard work."
He insisted that the talks weren't faltering and hinted that the Chinese were dictating the slow pace. "There are different negotiating styles around the world," Gooch said. "In Rome, the Romans do as they do, and we're in China."
The deal China signed Tuesday with Latvia left just six WTO members that have yet to sign off on Beijing's accession to the Geneva-based body that makes world trade's rules. Of those, the 15-nation EU is the most important. The others are Switzerland, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Ecuador. After the second day of talks Tuesday, Gooch said China appeared eager for an agreement. A deal could conceivably help sway undecided members of the U.S. House of Representatives, which next week considers a bill that would grant Beijing permanent low-tariff access to the United States, ending the current, divisive annual reviews of its trade status.
The EU wants more access for European telecommunications, financial services and automobile firms, as well as tariff reductions for gin, cognac and other items.
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