G-4 collapse has not changed Doha target; WTO chief

New Delhi, June 25 (UNI) Accepting that the issue of development is at the heart of Doha round of negotiations, World Trade Organisation chief Pascal Lamy has called for an urgent action to restore confidence that these negotiations can and will be accomplished successfully.

Mr Lamy made the appeal in Geneva in the wake of collapse of negotiations among four key governments over a new global trade agreement at Potsdam in Germany on June 21. While United States and European Union represented the developed countries, India and Brazil spoke for the developing world at the G-4 meet.

India and Brazil blamed the breakdown on United States and European Union's unwillingness to cut farm aid and import duties on commodities, whereas the US attributed the failure to ''inflexible stand of both India and Brazil.'' In his opening remarks at the opening of informal meeting in Geneva, which began a day after the failure of G-4, Lamy urged WTO members to ''engage fully in the multilateral process led by the Chairs, and put your cards on the table over the coming weeks in Geneva so that we can reach full modalities.'' Chairs are various committees set up by the WTO to accelerate the process of the negotiations. Chairs on agriculture and industrial goods are among the important committees.

The WTO director-general said he had spoken to all four Ministers(of G-4) separately and that all four had told him that they want the process to continue in Geneva, a statement by the world trade body released today said.

Mr Lamy added prior convergence among the G-4 would have been helpful to pave the way towards multilateral convergence on modalities in agriculture and non-agricultureal market access (NAMA). But Lamy at the same time said ''helpful does not mean indispensable.'' He further said the global trade talks is not a negotiation among just four players, it is a collective endeavour among ] all the participants - 150 members and 29 observers. ''It is also a single undertaking covering a broad agenda with development at its heart.'' The WTO chief said ''the core of the negotiation is the Geneva process'' - the only place where decisions can and should be taken.

He said the target has not changed and it remains to accomplish full modalities in agriculture and NAMA in line with the Doha mandates, the July 2004 decision and the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.

Stating that it were the members who had set the Doha Round, Lamy urged them to stick to it and bring it to a successful conclusion.

Reminding them that the Chairs of the agriculture and NAMA groups are working towards revised texts, he urged the member-countries to lend their full support, showing ''a real willingness to seek compromises and provide them with flexibility.'' Reiterating that the global trade deal was doable, Lamy said the burden of proof is on all members who must act urgently to restore confidence that these negotiations can and will be finished successfully. ''The world will now be watching very closely what each and every one of you will be doing to contribute to the success of the Doha Developmeng Agenda (DDA).'' Claiming that members are much closer than last year, the WTO chief said they now have a unique opportunity to demonstrate that this deal can be successfully closed.

Meanwhile, the meetings on agriculture and NAMA, scheduled for today, have been cancelled. New schedule of meetings and consultations will be issued shortly, WTO said.

UNI