MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lamy in fresh bid to save global trade talks

Pascal Lamy head of the World Trade Organization urged governments Friday to put forward concrete proposals on how far they would go to open up their markets at the start of a fresh bid to save global trade talks.

Mr Lamy made his appeal while addressing WTO's 149 members gathered for the first time since the Doha round of trade liberalization talks was suspended in deadlock more than three months ago.

"Today we are somewhere between the quiet diplomacy of the last months and the fully-fledged negotiations which will only come when members are prepared to put numbers to the flexibilities they have expressed in general terms on key issues" Lamy told an informal meeting of the trade negotiations committee.

The issues he referred to in the written copy of his speech, market access for agricultural goods and domestic support for farmers, are at the very core of the deadlock in the Doha round.

"While we are ready to start technical work at the level of experts, it would be, in my view, premature to move on to ministerial negotiations" Lamy cautioned.

The Doha round of negotiations on cutting subsidies, tariffs and other barriers to agricultural, industrial and services trade was launched in the Qatari capital Doha in 2001.

It has repeatedly been torn apart by disputes between rich and poor nations, as well as between the world's top trading powers, the European Union and the United States, over what concessions they each need to make.

From Hanoi at the APEC forum former WTO Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi said Mr. Lamy should convene national authorities to resume the stalled free trade talks.

"Mr. Lamy and his collaborators are trying to resuscitate the talks ", said Panitchpakdi who insisted that "silent diplomacy should mean that authorities effectively meet in Geneva".