Open up more for farm deal: Schwab

'Threatening tone' of US' letters to developing countries criticised.

United States Trade Representative Ambassador Susan Schwab has told Commerce Minister Kamal Nath that India must provide "commercially significant" market opening in insurance and other financial services, distribution and retail services, express delivery and courier services, energy and environment services, and telecom services as part of the Doha services negotiations.

In a letter to Nath last week, Schwab said Washington was expecting from India revised offers that would indicate a high degree of commercial presence under Mode-3 of trade in services.

She asked India to send a delegation of senior officials to negotiate in sectors where the US would like to see an "ambitious" market-opening in the Doha services package.

She has dispatched a similar letter to her counterparts in other targeted countries, Brazil, Argentina, China, South Africa and Indonesia, warning them that Washington will not be able to agree to the modalities on Doha agriculture and NAMA (non-agriculture market access) unless there is an agreement on a framework on services which meets the US demands, analysts say.

The bilateral trade talks between the US and other countries will start in Geneva next Monday. Services negotiators from the targeted countries criticised Schwab's letter for its "underlying belligerent tone", maintaining that it speaks of Washington's "brinkmanship".

"The US does not want to provide any access either in Mode 4 relating to short-term movement of services providers or binding liberal commitments in Mode 1 of cross-border trade in services but wants to pry open other markets," said a services negotiator.

The European Union is also likely to urge its trading partners from the developing countries to send high-level teams to hold talks with his senior officials, trade diplomats say.

Already, World Trade Organisation chief Pascal Lamy is working on a signaling conference that will take place along with the finalisation of modalities in agriculture and market-opening for industrials in April, says a European trade negotiator.

But several developing countries attacked the US and the EU for blocking the services negotiations, especially on finalising the chair's draft text.

"We are not sure whether Washington and Brussels are committed to advancing the services negotiations based on the chair's text because they are raising divisive issues binding current market access and national treatment commitments, despite an overwhelming opposition," said a senior South American trade negotiator.