Saturday 23 April 2011
Kenya
Looking at the Doha farm talks
Global trade talks meant to help poor countries prosper are "on the verge of failure" due to vast differences among countries, the head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said last Thursday.
The Doha Round of world trade talks has been dogged by disagreements
over how far the United States and the European Union should cut farm subsidies and tariffs -- and how far major developing countries should open their markets in exchange.
"The Doha Round is on the verge of failure. Leaders of the G20 said they wanted to conclude talks by Easter, but that won’t happen," Pascal Lamy told journalists in Nairobi after talks with Kenyan officials.
Leaders of the world’s richest nations have identified 2011 as a "window of opportunity".
Mr. Lamy said earlier this month he expected negotiators to present an initial version of a draft final agreement covering subsidies, anti-dumping rules, non-tariff barriers and other regulatory elements by late April.
Mr. Lamy blamed the lack of a breakthrough on some countries, which he said preferred bilateral trade agreements to a global Doha deal...
more
http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=TopStory&title=Doha-talks-%E2%80%98on-the-verge-of-failure%E2%80%99----WTO-chief&id=29151
Source: newsroom - farmingnewsdaily.co.uk
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