MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

WTO plans final push for Doha round talks next July 21

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Pascal Lamy called on Wednesday for a group of ministers from thirty main countries to meet from July 21 to push the Doha round of global free trade talks toward conclusion, diplomats said.

"What the director-general has told us is that he thought we were in good enough of a position to have a ministerial on the 21st" Mexican ambassador to the WTO Fernando de Mateo y Venturini said after a small briefing at the WTO headquarters in Geneva. The July meeting would include between 35 and 40 ministers representing a range of interests in the negotiations about opening up agriculture, industry and services markets, which Lamy is aiming to wrap up in 2008. If ministers can successfully reach an understanding in farming and manufacturing, the basics of a Doha accord could go to the WTO full membership as early as the end of July according to analysts. "I think it is perfectly imaginable that this deal can be done, but a lot of hard work needs to be done first," said the European Union's top civil servant for trade, David O'Sullivan. "I agree with him" added US ambassador to the WTO Peter Allgeier, who also participated in the meeting with Lamy. Sean Spicer, a spokesman for US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, later cautioned that significant gaps remain between countries negotiating the accord, now in its seventh year. "While there has been progress in recent days, in the weeks leading up to the ministerial meeting there still is a lot of work and still important differences". The Doha round was launched in 2001 in the hope of giving the global economy a boost and helping poor countries export more. But the negotiations have missed deadline after deadline as countries, rich and poor, have clashed on core issues such as cutting farm subsidies. India's WTO ambassador, Ujal Singh Bhatia, was noncommittal on whether the July meeting could overcome the resistance. "I will tell you on the 20th," he said when asked about the chances of a successful meeting. India is a key player in the round. Analysts point out that without a breakthrough before the summer break in August, the round is likely to be put on hold as the United States heads into its presidential election campaign and the subsequent replacement of its administration. Other factors such as the changeover of the European Commission in 2009 and elections in India will also mean the negotiations face a potentially lengthy delay.