Members look at April to break WTO deadlock

With the deadlock over agriculture continuing at the World Trade Organisation, member countries have already started looking at the possibility of another ministerial in April next year.

"What is most likely to happen at the Hong Kong ministerial is that we will have a range of numbers "" the outer parameters "" in the July 2004 Framework agreement. For instance, member countries could agree that the tariff reduction in agriculture would be in the range of 45-90 per cent or 55-75 per cent. This range would then be narrowed down later before the next ministerial in April," a negotiator told Business Standard.

Officials also admitted that with WTO members, like the European Union, showing little signs of improving their offers in agriculture further, the final text at Hong Kong could contain broad ranges in all areas of agriculture, like domestic support and export subsidies and in other areas like the Non-agricultural Market Access.

There is, however, concern among member countries to clinch an agreement by December 2006, when the Doha Round is scheduled to conclude, as the deadline coincides with the end of the present US Farm Bill and the fast track trade negotiating authority.

"If an agreement is not reached by December 2006, then progress at the WTO could be stalled until 2010," an official said.

WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, in his November 10 report to heads of delegations, admitted there "was not a sufficient level of convergence among members on the level of ambition in the key areas of the negotiations".

"We would try to capture as much as possible of what has been achieved since July 2004, so that we have a package available for Hong Kong which is clearly a step forward compared to the July Framework. We should also consider whatever is needed in terms of further concessions in order to achieve full modalities shortly after Hong Kong," he said.