A meeting of selected trade ministers from World Trade Organization countries last week could be “the beginning of the endgame of the Doha Round,” said WTO director general Pascal Lamy.
During a speech in New Delhi, India, before talks began Sept. 3, Lamy warned that the year-long recession has slowed trade and encouraged protectionism.
“We have seen an increase in restrictive trade measures since the onset of the crisis so there is no room for complacency,” he said in a speech.
Progress is needed this autumn before a scheduled meeting of ministers in Geneva at the end of November, he said.
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However, the ministers’ meeting last week did little to advance that cause.
Indian commerce minister Shri Anand Sharma said in a statement at the end of the meeting Sept. 4 that ministers had endorsed the commitment to complete a new WTO deal by the end of 2010.
But in a statement posted by the Indian government, he also said political commitments have not yet been translated into flexibility for trade negotiators to compromise.
“Ministers acknowledged that the unambiguous political signals emanating from earlier meetings had not been translated into action in Geneva,” he said.
It led Ottawa trade consultant Peter Clark to argue that the WTO negotiation is far from complete.
“Commitment to a 2010 conclusion is motherhood,” he said Sept. 4.
“Suggestions that 80 percent of the work has been done and only 20 percent remains is disingenuous or at best wishful thinking.”
