Push to conclude Doha Round resumes

Talks resumed in Geneva on September 3, 2007, for a way to clinch the stalled Doha round of the World Trade Organisation negotiations by the end of this year.

The Chair of the agricultural negotiations, Crawford Falconer, told journalists at the WTO headquarters in Geneva that the diplomats who returned to the negotiating table were “all in a mood to roll their sleeves up and get to work”.

The Doha round of negotiations was supposed to conclude by the end of 2004, but have been bogged down by lack of consensus on agriculture and non-agricultural market access particularly. Crucial talks between the four key trading partners, the US, EU, India and Brazil, failed to reach any conclusion in June 2007.

However, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said on September 3: “I'm convinced that the talks are going to be concluded, and in a successful way.”

France's economy minister was not so optimistic. Christine Lagarde told a meeting near Paris on August 30 that the gap between developed and developing countries in the negotiations meant an agreement in the near future was unlikely. Farmers have a great deal of political clout in France and one of the key issues -- cutting agricultural subsidies to farmers in developed countries -- does not go down well there.

The agriculture talks will now break up into bilateral and small-group informal meetings. Talks on industrial goods are due to resume later this month.