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U.S. officials over the last few weeks have offered some additional specifics about how it might be able to agree to new disciplines on food aid in the ongoing Doha round

New Zealand is one of eight governments (US, EC, Japan, Australia, Switzerland, South Korea and Taiwan) pushing a scheme that would require all countries, rich and poor, to lock open a minimum number of their services to foreign firms

Many developing countries have objected to the joint attempt by developed countries to introduce a 'benchmarking approach' or 'complementary multilateral methods' to the services negotiations in the World Trade Organisation.

The United States and the European Union on Friday asked Brazil and India to agree to a 'Swiss' formula with two coefficients one for the industrialized countries and one for the developing countries to cut industrial tariffs

The differences among members on these issues were as wide as before the WTO's summer break, with the countries reiterating their known positions

Highlights on the best of the best and also has a transcript based on Public Citizen's notes of the entire hearing

The chairman of the Doha Development Agenda market access negotiations for industrials yesterday made some headway in jump-starting negotiations on a tariff-cutting formula - but sharp differences exist on details between the 'Friends of Ambition' led by the United States and the so-called 'ABI'

There

Among the highlights: Portman agreeing that food aid should be in commodities not cash; Repeated declaration from Administration officials and members of Congress that US needs to 'box shift' domestic support and jack up payment levels in farm bill so as to make for higer baselines; Senate Ag committee chair saying that for Hong Kong 'No Agreementi better than a bad agreement' which in his view means major tariff cuts to allow for more US market access.