MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Doha round global trade talks heading for “deep freeze”

World Trade Organisation (WTO) chief Pascal Lamy said this week the Doha Round global trade talks risks heading into a “deep freeze” but could be saved if key countries made small concessions.

In a speech to a United Nations Economic and Social Council meeting in Geneva, Lamy said nations digging in their heels in the nearly six-year-old negotiations could sabotage big gains to the global economy if they did not moderate their positions. "Today the Doha Round is at a crossroad: the path towards success or the slow move towards a deep freeze," Lamy said. The Doha round launched in late 2001 is meant to boost trade flows and help developing countries whose producers have struggled to overcome market barriers and price-distorting subsidies. The negotiations have stalled over European and Unite States farm subsidies and tariffs, and concerns among emerging nations about opening up their markets to industrial goods and services provided by firms in rich countries. Lamy said the collapse of talks in Potsdam in late June between the European Union, the United States, Brazil and India on the outlines of a deal "could be fatal" for Doha if the four do not play a constructive role over the coming period. But in spite of Mr. Lamy's calls developing countries are skeptical about further advances given the fact that President George Bush administration special powers to negotiate international trade agreements expired at the end of June. The fast track procedure, as it is identified, was granted by the US Congress and virtually limits the possibility of introducing amendments to trade agreements, since the US legislative branch has only two options: accepting or rejecting the full text. With Congress under Democrat control and highly sensitive to job losses, the Bush administration eroding support because of the Iraq war and the beginning of primaries to nominate candidates for next year's US presidential election, political analysts believe it's difficult to reach a political agreement to advance global trade negotiations. The recent collapse of what was perceived as a promising political understanding between the Bush administration and the Democrat Congress on a controversial immigration bill is not a good omen.