The European Union presented world trade negotiators with a last-minute plan to rescue stalled free trade talks on Friday, saying there were still avenues of negotiation to explore after 10 years of trying. In a presentation to a key meeting of World Trade Organisation member countries, the plan aims to find some middle ground between the US and major emerging economies, especially China, on the key sticking point of the discussions — rates on industrial goods.
"Our view has always been that not all options and avenues, in this market access area had been explored," said Jean-Luc Demarty, European Commission, director general for trade of the Doha round of trade talks that began in 2001.
"This is why we felt we should formulate ideas to stimulate further engagement," he said in a statement released as the Geneva meeting of the 153-member WTO's Trade Negotiations Committee began.
"We have sought over the last few days and hours to engage with a large number of members... and would like to report briefly on this today in a proper multilateral setting, so as to ensure full transparency towards all members," he said. "To summarize the objective of our initiative: We tried to demonstrate that it is technically and realistically possible to bridge the gaps if the political will is there."
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, who has staked his reputation on getting a deal done this year, begged delegates in the closed-door meeting not to return to the "law of the jungle". The EU's plan focuses on tariffs for chemicals, machinery and electronics and seeks an approach that is tailored for different products.
