The quest for a new global trade pact got further tangled on Monday as China demanded the United States scrap its cotton subsidies, fuelling a potentially damaging dispute between the two powers.
China demanded that Washington end subsidies to its cotton producers after bluntly rebuffing US allegations that the Chinese were jeopardising precious steps towards a global free trade pact.
"The extremely high cotton subsidies by the US have caused serious damage to cotton farmers in developing countries, including those in Africa and 150 million ones in China," said top Chinese official Zhang Xiangchen.
"We believe that the US is not in a position to discuss with developing (WTO) members on cotton tariffs until they eliminate their cotton subsidies," he added.
China's remarks came even as so-called C4 group of West African cotton producers — Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali — have been voicing frustration that Washington offered "nothing concrete" on the issue during talks here.
The C4 grouping has since 2003 been fighting for the cotton issue to be included in the Doha round of trade liberalisation talks, seeking a cut in subsidies for US cotton producers.
India Commerce Minister Kamal Nath on Monday also noted that the issue has been sidelined so far.
"The last three days we've had no movement on cotton," he told reporters during a break in the latest talks among major WTO powers on Monday.
The United States earlier accused India and China of threatening to shatter a fragile deal reached by key parties in Geneva over the past week, according to a statement obtained by AFP.
"Their actions have thrown the… Doha Development Round into the gravest jeopardy of its nearly seven-year life," the US deputy head at the Geneva mission to the WTO, David Shark, said in the statement, naming India and China.
The United States wants China to lower import tariffs on cotton in return for a lowering of US subsidies.
