Widespread press reports this morning that trade ministers are downplaying expectations of securing an outline deal on a global trade treaty at next month's Hong Kong WTO summit. The BBC reports:
Officials from the US, Europe, India Brazil and Japan said progress had been made in talks in London but that "big gaps" remained over key issues. The aim is to agree a free trade deal by the start of 2006 but reform of farm subsidies remains a big sticking point. World Trade Organization members will continue talks in Geneva on Tuesday.
Reuters reported this morning that the WTO may have to lower sights for Hong Kong meet:
At the end of six hours of talks in London between ministers from Brazil, India, the United States, the European Union and Japan, India's Trade Minister Kamal Nath told journalists that the WTO might not be able to achieve the full blueprint for a global free trade deal as planned.
"Expectations of Hong Kong will not be, with the availability of time, what they were two months ago," Nath said, adding this had been acknowledged by ministers inside the closed-door talks. He said this would be discussed with a wider group of ministers when the trade talks switched to Geneva later on Tuesday.
With a mid-December deadline, the ministers, who represent wide interests within the WTO, met at the Indian embassy in London to try to bridge differences.
After four years of negotiations, the gap between developed and developing nations, particularly over agriculture, remains wide. All sides have warned that the WTO negotiations face collapse unless it can be narrowed fast....WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, who was at the talks, warned that failure would cost the world economy hundreds of billions of dollars in lost trade opportunities, and that poorer countries would lose the most. Diplomatic sources quoted Lamy as telling ministers: "We will have to think about lowering expectations for Hong Kong," although he did not say where the bar should be set.
Ben Muse quotes today's FT story that it is 'Make or break' week for draft trade declaration.
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