Hearing on Issues to be Addressed at the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference of the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization’s Trade Expansion Negotiations
Opening Statement of C. Richard D’Amato
Commission Chairman
December 8, 2005
Washington, DC
Good morning and welcome to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission’s hearing on the Issues in the Doha Round. This hearing is important and timely, as you know, the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference is set to begin next week.
I believe it is critical to understand the Doha Agenda issues to be addressed at the meeting and more importantly to place in context China’s actions with regard to multinational trade agreements. This Commission was established at the time that China was granted permanent normal trading relations in order to assess the economic and security implications to the U.S. of trade with China.
In past hearings, the Commission has detailed China’s compliance problems. In today’s hearing we would like to explore China’s participation in the WTO from another angle. Is it an active member in Doha Round negotiations? Where do the U.S. and Chinese government’s goals as far as the Doha Round converge and differ? And where they converge, what is our working relationship with the Chinese? Are they coming to the fore in defense of those interests?
There is a lot of discussion, prior to the upcoming talks, in anticipation of limited progress, due to agricultural subsidies and tariffs. But beyond this issue, the Hong Kong Ministerial will pose an opportunity to discuss industrial tariffs and technology piracy issues. I look forward to today’s panelists’ presentation on the scope and depth of the issues that will be presented at the Ministerial and how China’s interests and role within the WTO will affect the U.S. economic and security interests.
I’d like to now recognize today’s hearing Cochairs: Commissioners June Dreyer and Mike Wessel.