SOUTH AFRICA REACTS POSITIVELY TO WTO NEGOTIATING

UNCLAS PRETORIA 003591 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/S, AF/EPS, EB USDOC FOR 4510/ITA/MAC/AME/OA/JDIEMOND DEPT PASS USTR FOR PCOLEMAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD SF WTO WTRO USTR SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA REACTS POSITIVELY TO WTO NEGOTIATING FRAMEWORK REF: STATE 168991 ¶1. The South African government hailed the August 1 deal reached in Geneva on a new framework for the negotiations of the Doha Development Agenda as an important milestone and victory for developing countries. Xavier Carim, South Africa's chief trade negotiator, said that the group of 20 developing countries had a significant influence on the outcome. He asserted that the group was now a stronger alliance than ever before and would become a permanent feature of WTO talks. He cautioned, however, that the most hotly contested issues had yet to be resolved. ¶2. South African economists and the media were also very positive about the agreement. Dr. Iraq Abedian, chief executive of the Pan African Avisory Service, felt that the fact that multilateralism in international trade is back on track was clearly good for the world economy and could provide a way out of the poverty trap for many emerging economies. Ron Derby of the "Citizen" said that the breakthrough in WTO talks held out promise for developing economies that wanted to get into agricultural markets in the EU and the United States. The "Sowetan" newspaper was particularly pleased with the timing of the agreement, arguing that no progress would have been registered between now and the U.S. presidential election if this deadline had been missed. FRAZER