A Partial Doha Agreement
25 Jul 2008
The trade ministers of 33 WTO member countries ironed out a few of the differences Friday that have been standing in the way of the completion of the Doha Round of multilateral trade talks, although the emerging deal must still win the backing of all of the global body’s 153 members.
The tentative agreement, which has drawn objections from some countries and harsh criticism from civil society organisations, sets forth proposed solutions for many of the most controversial aspects of the negotiations on agriculture and industrial tariffs, the pillars of the talks aimed at liberalising global trade.
The document was hammered out over the last two days by the trade ministers of six countries -- Australia, Brazil, Britain, China, Japan and the United States -- and the European Union, which make up the G7.
The G7’s involvement in drafting the compromise deal was requested by all of the ministers who travelled to Geneva this week on the invitation of the WTO (World Trade Organisation) director general, one diplomat told IPS.
Even countries that are now opposed to the deal initially backed the G7’s efforts at coming up with a compromise formula, said the source, who preferred to remain anonymous.
He said that Argentina and India were the only countries, among the 33, to voice objections. But other sources said India’s reservations referred to specific points and did not apply to the document as a whole.
Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana said the compromise formulas fell short.
But Brazil’s Foreign Minister Celso Amorim remarked that the chances of success for the talks had gone up to 65 percent, from 50-50 before the start of this week's crucial negotiations.
Read the Entire News...
Source: IPS News
The document was hammered out over the last two days by the trade ministers of six countries -- Australia, Brazil, Britain, China, Japan and the United States -- and the European Union, which make up the G7.
The G7’s involvement in drafting the compromise deal was requested by all of the ministers who travelled to Geneva this week on the invitation of the WTO (World Trade Organisation) director general, one diplomat told IPS.
Even countries that are now opposed to the deal initially backed the G7’s efforts at coming up with a compromise formula, said the source, who preferred to remain anonymous.
He said that Argentina and India were the only countries, among the 33, to voice objections. But other sources said India’s reservations referred to specific points and did not apply to the document as a whole.
Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana said the compromise formulas fell short.
But Brazil’s Foreign Minister Celso Amorim remarked that the chances of success for the talks had gone up to 65 percent, from 50-50 before the start of this week's crucial negotiations.
Read the Entire News...
Source: IPS News
