WTO splits talks for clinching deal soon

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will not advice you to hold your breath on Friday for those texts.”

He said there are members who have problems with a lot of elements in both of the texts as well as in other areas. The Doha Round talks, launched in 2001, have already failed to meet several earlier deadlines due to major differences between the developed and developing world on commitments towards liberalization of global trade. According to WTO, a global trade liberalization deal could add around $100 billion dollars annually to the world economy.

He quoted Lamy as saying that though members welcomed the new US offer to reduce its overall trade distorting farm subsidies, several members urged the US to consider further reductions.

On amber box (subsidies not permitted by the WTO), members focused on two main issues—the base period for product specific cuts and whether the US should be given headroom for starting point of those cuts. The US indicated it could accept the base period proposed in the draft modalities text.

On agriculture tariff cuts, the focus and the emphasis was on cuts in top band, that is tariffs in the highest category of above 75% and where the range is 66% to 73%.