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NOVEMBER 17, 2000 VOL. 26 NO. 45 | SEARCH ASIAWEEK

'It Depends on the Details'
Barshefsky speaks on China's WTO accession

The Clinton administration may be winding down, but U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky isn't ready to fade quietly back into private life. After nearly four years as America's top trade negotiator, she is determined to see her hard work on last year's U.S.-China accord capped successfully with Beijing's accession to the World Trade Organization. Toward that end, she is still striving to resolve the remaining differences. This week's APEC summit in Brunei will be her last major appearance on the Asian stage. Days before she left Washington, Barshefsky spoke with Asiaweek's Sam Gilston. Excerpts:

Will the WTO working party on China's accession complete its work this week?
There is progress in Geneva, though I would be surprised if it all wrapped up this time around. We'll have to see if the progress is sustained. [If so,] they would hold another working party in December and perhaps another one in early or mid-January.

Sounds like an accord won't come this year.
Europe would certainly like to see it done this year. We would like that. The Chinese would like that. But the pace will be determined by the Chinese. If they are able to move forward rapidly, this will conclude rapidly. If they feel they need more time, then we'll take more time.

What issues are most pressing?
You have not only the consolidation of all the schedules, but also a very broad array of issues on the table. You have 40 countries around the table. They have different ways they would like to see provisions drafted. It's very complicated — especially for the Chinese, who are not used to this kind of process.

Some issues involve the language of how the Chinese will actually put into place what they agreed to.
Exactly. The working party has been working on the language for the phase-in of distribution rights and trading rights, and how exactly the tariff-rate quotas in agriculture would be administered. The question is how detailed you want to get. Acceding countries typically would like less detail. Members of any working party typically want more. You have to find a happy median.

Could these last details be worked out in Brunei, where you will meet China's trade minister and President Bill Clinton will meet President Jiang Zemin?
The president's meeting with President Jiang will be important. But this is not so much bilateral. I went to China recently to help elucidate for the Chinese the issues on the table, trying to categorize them and make them easier to handle. E.U. Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy did exactly the same thing. But most of the talks are really Geneva-focused. You need the other countries there. There may well be [resolutions in Brunei]. But whether issues are resolved there or after the Chinese go home and coordinate with their ministries, I don't know.

Do the people in Geneva have the authority to make the final deal?
Some undoubtedly have it, the more experienced hands. But I suspect that once we have a rough-cut agreement, some Geneva ambassadors will need to ask for instructions. [As for] the Chinese, they typically go to Geneva with a specific set of instructions. To the extent that needs to be changed, I don't know if they have to go home to touch base. But I don't think those processes need take very long. [Chinese Premier] Zhu Rongji certainly indicated in a very forceful way that China would not back away from commitments made in its bilateral accords.

Do you think he has enough authority to make that commitment?
Yes, I think so.

What assurances do you have that Beijing and China's provincial governments will really deliver?
This accession will have to be monitored very closely, not just bilaterally, but through the WTO, which will have a special mechanism for China. And there is always the suasion of 140 countries, all of whom are depending on China to implement. This will for us and the Chinese require a tremendous amount of work and dedication to make sure that the benefits of the agreement in fact materialize.

Any problems with Taiwan's accession?
The Chinese have indicated that they will abide fully by the terms agreed in 1992. That is, China would enter first, followed by Taiwan. Taiwan would enter as a separate customs territory, which is entirely correct and appropriate. We would expect to see both admitted in essentially the same session of the General Council; China first, followed by Taiwan.

Where are we now on the issue of a new WTO round?
We have been working with Europe for the last six or eight months. We are quite a bit closer to a reasonable, rough-cut agenda for a new round. That effort will be expanded to our quad partners, Canada and Japan, and then building concentric circles outward. I think we will leave the issue in good shape for the next administration. Obviously, developing countries will need perhaps to increase their comfort level a bit more with the notion of a new round, but I think that will happen.

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