Time is short, and the water is rising.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has published another in a series of reports on the progress of the WTO's Doha Round of trade negotiations: "Global Trade Talks Back on Track, but Considerable Work Needed to Fulfill Ambitious Objectives"

The report has a helpful review of the story so far, surveys key issues, and discusses some of the potential obstacles to agreement.

Time is short, and the water is rising. The Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation, under which the U.S. is pursuing the negotiations must be extended this year, and cannot be extended past July 2007.  Moreover, Congress has to start work on a new farm bill, and needs to know what the Doha Round agriculture provisions will be:

...TPA is set to expire in mid-2005, but provides a procedure for the President to request a one-time extension of the authority to July 1, 2007. The President recently requested such an extension, which is automatic unless Congress disapproves it by June 30, 2005...

...WTO negotiators are keenly aware that the United States will consider revamping comprehensive farm legislation slated to expire in 2007 and want to make sure it includes WTO agreed reforms. Moreover, the duration of U.S. Trade Promotion Authority is, in effect, operating as an implicit deadline for concluding the Doha Round, according to numerous participants and experts. If Congress renews TPA in mid-2005, the Doha Round agreement would be eligible for approval under TPA provided it was signed by the President by June 30, 2007. However, the President must fulfill a number of procedural requirements and meet certain time frames established by TPA . Thus, the WTO Doha negotiations would need to conclude by the end of December 2006 to meet TPA’s statutory requirements. If the Doha Round agreement required no changes to trade remedy laws, the effective deadline could change to the end of March 2007.

Here is the US Trade Representative's web site for the report to Congress requesting the extension: 2005 Report to the Congress on the Extension of Trade Promotion Authority. (parts of this site don't seem to be working).

The TPA is important because it provides a concrete mechanism for Congressional guidance and oversight of trade negotiations, and it provides for a straight, up-and-down, vote on the whole agreement negotiated by the President.  The TPA enhances U.S. negotiating credibility with foreign states.  As the Business Roundtable notes:

TPA is critical to the negotiation of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements because it gives U.S. trade negotiators credibility at the negotiating table. When the president has TPA, the United States’ trading partners know that Congress will not reopen the negotiations by amending the final agreement. As a result, trading partners are willing to grant more substantial concessions.Firms that participate in a global economy grow faster and pay more than those that do not.

Meanwhile the negotiations are moving forward, but slowly.