MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lamy confirms global trade talks posted to resume next week

The Doha round global trade negotiations will resume “at senior official level” next Tuesday announced World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy on Thursday in Oslo.

Back from New Delhi and Washington Lamy said he had perceived "a strong political resolve both from Indian and US officials" to rescue the Doha round. Negotiations collapsed last July on a sharp disagreement between the United States and India over the terms of a safeguard mechanism to allow developing countries to raise tariffs on agricultural imports in response to a surge. Speaking from Washington US Trade Representative Susan Schwab confirmed efforts to revive world trade talks. "There will be multiple meetings going on in Geneva next week" Schwab told reporters. "Our approach to this hasn't changed ... We want to see the Doha round succeed. We want to see it move forward." Next week's talks will be held at the "senior officials" level, rather than the topmost political level of trade ministers, said Schwab who also underlined the "large amount of progress" that was achieved in the July meeting. From Brazil Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and a clue negotiator in the trade talks said that "we think it's possible to reach an accord. We know it's difficult. There's no magical formula". Amorim said he had spoken to the Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath earlier on Thursday and would with WRO Director General Lamy. He said the conditions for talks were now better than when they collapsed because countries had been poorly prepared to tackle the safeguard issue in July and negotiators had been exhausted after days of non-stop talks. Brazil has been a key player in the Doha round, trying to forge a common front among developing countries.