Global Trade Talks
Developing countries form united front
Afp, Geneva
About 100 developing countries in the World Trade Organisation on Saturday formed a united front to defend the development thrust of global trade talks, but said they were optimistic that agreement could be reached by the end of the month. Several overlapping negotiating groups including the G20 group of developing and emerging nations, African countries, Caribbean and Asian nations, poorest countries and cotton producers released a joint statement as a crucial WTO meeting in Geneva fizzled out. They insisted that the Doha round must stick to the original mandate laid out when the talks started nearly five years ago in the Qatari capital, by dealing "in a meaningful and comprehensive manner" with "the development needs and concerns of developing countries." "Any attempt to renegotiate or rewrite these would not be acceptable," the statement warned. The venture followed talks involving the WTO's 149 members which failed to bridge gaps between trading powers over access to markets for agriculture and industrial goods. Representatives of developing nations underlined the need for progress on eliminating trade-distorting subsidies for agriculture in rich nations "that threaten the lives of millions of poor farmers." There was also concern at US objections to measures aimed at granting some poor countries the right to protect special products or sectors of the economy crucial to their livelihoods. "At this crucial moment in which the success of the round is hinging on almost a kind of a knife's edge, it's important to show that a large group of developing countries are not only united, but they are united around concrete proposals," said Brazil's foreign minister, Celso Amorim. However Amorim emphasised that the group were ready to negotiate despite the failure of the meeting aimed at settling formulas for cutting subsidies and tariffs in a trade deal due for the end of the year. "We all know that July will be really the crucial month of the possibility of still finalising the round within the foreseebale future," Amorim said. "On a personal note, I'm still optimistic we can get there, it will not be easy, it will require a lot of political vision." India's Minister of Commerce Kamal Nath concurred: "While I am disappointed I am still optimistic".
| 
