WTO chief Pascal Lamy says the political will may exist to revive stalled global trade talks, but negotiations can resume only if countries compromise on the main stumbling block of agriculture.
Trade ministers of the developing-country Group-of-20 coalition will meet in Rio de Janeiro September 9 and 10 to finalize a position on how to revive the suspended Doha Development Agenda trade negotiations - a first indication of whether a turnaround in the negotiations is possible.
China would damage its robust economy and hinder its own policy objectives if it embraced economic nationalism, Susan Schwab, the US trade representative, said in Beijing yesterday.
China is willing to help restart WTO talks but wants to see developed countries make "substantial contributions" first, a state news agency on Tuesday quoted China's commerce minister as telling a top American envoy.
The US trade chief warned Friday that WTO talks to liberalise global trade would be suspended for several years if there was no breakthrough over the next six to eight months.
US Trade Representative Susan Schwab will start her first visit to China on Sunday, during which she will hold high-level discussions on efforts to restart the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Doha Round.
India is in favour of salvaging the suspended Doha development round and was committed to a rule-based multilateral trading system. But, it made clear it would not compromise on the interests of its farmers and infant industries.
"The Doha Round of international trade negotiations collapsed mainly because of a fight for advantage in agricultural markets by large and powerful countries, corporations and lobbies," FAO said today.
Pakistan has shown its reservation over partial resumption of negotiations on some issues saying talks should be resumed across the board on the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), it is learnt.
By Martin Khor, TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues
The WTO General Council which met on 27 July did not take a formal decision on the suspension of the Doha negotiations, with the Chairperson merely "taking note" of the statements on the issue that were made by the Director-General and by the delegations.
Shed no tears for the recent collapse of the trade talks, widely portrayed as a big setback for the trading system and developing nations. The suspension opens the door to a more realistic agenda.
