MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

G4 expects Doha round success “by the end of the year”

Trade ministers from the European Union, Brazil, India and the United States failed to revive global trade negotiations but expressed hopes that the Doha Round talks will meet success by the end of the year.

Meeting in Brussels for two days, ministers said they "remain committed and hopeful that our efforts, coupled with the work being done at the multilateral level in Geneva, will lead to a successful conclusion of this round by the end of this year". The G 4 statement was signed by India's Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, Brazilian Foreign Affairs minister Celso Amorim, European Union's Commissioner Peter Mandelson and US Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab. 'Following constructive discussions at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Conference this week, we have had two days of intensive dialogue on advancing the Doha Round", added the release. 'Our meetings were productive and included discussions in all the core negotiating areas with a particular focus on agriculture, NAMA (Non-agricultural market access), and services". "As outlined last month in New Delhi, we will continue to hold intensive talks at the senior official and minister levels in the coming weeks with a view to find convergence", the group stated. The informal deadline for conclusion of the Doha Round was set in New Delhi last month at the G4 meeting after the previous deadline of December 2006 was missed. The Doha round began in 2001 amid high hopes of a global trade deal that boost the global economy and help millions escape from poverty. The US and EU are under pressure to reduce the subsidies they pay to their farmers as well as cutting the customs duties they charge on imports of agricultural products. In return, developing nations are supposed to open their markets up to industrial goods and services from the rest of the world.