U.S. manufacturers welcome WTO agreement

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- The National Manufacturers Association welcomed Monday the latest World Trade Organization agreement on cutting farm subsidies in wealthy countries.

"Ideally, some of the key language could have been less general, but that's okay. The important thing is we now have a green light and can get to the nitty-gritty of negotiations," said Frank Vargo, NAM's vice president for international economic relations.

The group said its key objective in Geneva was to see "a sharp tariff-cutting formula, sectoral tariff negotiations, and non-tariff barrier cuts."

During the weekend, wealthy member nations of the WTO agreed to cut billions of dollars in farm subsidies, thereby opening the way for greater market access for developing countries for both agricultural products and manufactured goods. Members also agreed to extend the latest Doha round of negotiations until at least December 2005.