WTO Talks Aim to Break a Deadlock

By Stephen Castle

Negotiators in Geneva are set to resume talks on world trade Monday at the start of another crucial period for the stalled negotiations, which began in 2001 and have been on the verge of collapse for months. Discussions will focus on agriculture, one of the main obstacles to an accord, with negotiations on industrial issues and the trade of manufactured goods scheduled for the following week.

Meanwhile, Pascal Lamy, director general of the World Trade Organization, will meet with trade ministers from the Asia and Pacific region in Sydney from Sept. 5 to 7.

Over the next two months, Lamy will have to decide whether enough progress has been made in negotiations to merit a full ministerial meeting on the so-called Doha round, named after the city where the talks were begun.

In July the chairmen of the negotiating committees in Geneva published draft proposals on the scope of cuts in tariffs and subsidies as the basis for a possible accord, which backers say would increase economic growth and lift more people in developing countries out of poverty. To achieve that, they are seeking to lower customs duties around the world, cut the level of subsidies to farmers in the United States and force the European Union to reduce tariffs and get rid of export subsidies.

While officials say that the gap has been narrowed in the negotiations, it remains unclear whether there will be sufficient political impetus to close a deal by the end of the year. In a speech in August, Lamy argued that, “given what is already on offer on the negotiating table, and what remains to be done, my sense is that concluding this negotiation is both necessary and doable.”

Originally published by The New York Times Media Group.

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