WTO members try to bridge gaps to put trade talks on target

AFP on Yahoo ^ | 7/27/05 | AFP

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GENEVA (AFP) - World Trade Organization countries met at a vital stage on the tough road towards a treaty to open up global commerce, after almost four years of on-off talks.

The 148 member countries met against a background of persistent splits particularly on farm subsidies and services and with a WTO summit in Hong Kong looming just five months away.

They are under growing pressure to accelerate the so-called Doha Round negotiations and EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, initially not due to attend, is now expected to play a part.

India's trade minister Kamal Nath was another top official expected to attend.

Their US counterpart, Rob Portman, who is tied up at home by efforts to pass a free trade deal with Central American countries, was expected in Geneva on Friday.

But despite the high-level participants, officials said little was expected from the Wednesday to Friday session of the WTO General Council.

"I think people realize that where we are is where we're going to be, at least for the next few weeks," said a trade source.

Members hope the December meeting in Hong Kong will cap the round and give birth to a wide-ranging trade accord in 2006, with the treaty meant to cut tariffs and other barriers to commerce, and use trade to boost the economies of developing countries.

Trading nations decided following an interim deal last summer that this week's meeting should try to deliver a so-called "first approximation" -- a loose draft of their trade agreement.

But that target has been gradually lowered this year because differences are unresolved.

Short of a last minute surprise, all that is billed is a series of reports on the state of play by senior negotiators, plus a readout by WTO chief Supachai Panitchpakdi, diplomats said.

In his report to the meeting Wednesday, Iceland's trade ambassador Stefan Johannesson, who chairs talks on industrial goods, urged members to focus on the detail.

"If we are to have a successful agreement by Hong Kong, it is essential that we begin a more meaningful negotiation on the actual numbers," he said.

"We cannot continue endlessly to debate structure alone. Members will need to engage in a give-and-take with one another."

Trading nations have struggled to maintain momentum in the talks they launched in the Qatari capital in 2001.

They are particularly concerned avoid a replay in Hong Kong of their failed summit at Cancun, Mexico, in 2003.

The rift there revolved around farm trade -- where poor countries and exporting nations such as Australia are seeking more concessions from the EU and US -- and on services, with rich countries pressing the poor to open up sectors including insurance and banking.

Many countries have been reluctant to make major concessions until they are sure what they will get in return, negotiators said.

Key sticking points include agricultural tariffs and export subsidies, mainly in wealthy nations.

Poor countries and campaigners maintain that such subsidies allow European and US farmers to dump cut-price produce on world markets, thereby preventing poor producers from competing fairly and increasing reliance on aid.

The farm trade issue has also provoked a spat between the EU and US.

The EU has offered to lower its farm import duties provided the US cuts its support for producers, but Washington says it has already made more concessions than Brussels.

Trade diplomats are nonetheless trying to stay optimistic, noting that negotiations have continued to inch painstakingly ahead, and that a deal is still feasible in Hong Kong if negotiators step up efforts.

This week is Supachai's last chance to spur the Doha Round, just days after sounding the alarm about the lack of prgress.

The Thai ends his term August 31, handing over the job of director-general to Frenchman Pascal Lamy.

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Logo of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva. WTO countries met at a vital stage on the tough road towards a treaty to open up global commerce, after almost four years of on-off talks.(AFP/File/Thomas Coex)