WTO Restarts Doha Trade Talks
Delegates to the World Trade Organization are resuming discussion of a new global trade deal.
Compiled by staff
Published: Sep 5, 2007
Officials are cautiously optimistic about movement forward on the WTO Doha round of trade talks that restarted this week. The push that has begun is three weeks of discussion trying to find middle ground on subsidy and tariff cuts between rich and poor nations.
The member nations say they are ready to get down to "brass tacks," see the talks reach the final stage, and finish the trade deal. While he is pleased that there seems to be forward movement, Crawford Falconer, the New Zealand ambassador who chairs the WTO's agriculture talks, is not counting the deal done. The talks were originally supposed to be done in 2004, but have drug on through stalemated positions for the past three years.
Falconer and Canadian chief industrial trade negotiator Don Stephenson issued two proposals in July in an attempt to force countries back to the bargaining table. Although well received, the pace seems to still be lagging as many countries say they need more time to prepare. The urgency of the talks has never been greater according to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, a group of countries including the U.S, Japan and China. They have drafted a statement calling for the completion of the talks by year-end.
It's hard to tell if negotiators will make a breakthrough this fall or if the stalemate of the past few years will continue with the possible collapse of the talks a possibility according to European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson.
Mandelson says, "If we fail to do that then I am afraid that I can see the round going into the deep freeze and it will be very difficult indeed to remove it and revive it in [the] future."
Permalink: Click here
|