November 16, 2007	Friday	Ziqa’ad 05, 1428

GENEVA, Nov 15: Developing countries said on Thursday a successful global trade deal is “within our grasp,” despite substantial differences with richer countries on agriculture and internal splits over industrial goods.

Eight ministers from the G20 group of countries, including India, South Africa, Argentina and Tanzania, are meeting at the World Trade Organisation at the behest of Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, who is the country’s chief trade negotiator.“A successful Round is within our grasp,” the G20 said in a statement.

“The G20 is ready to work constructively and in a problem-solving mode with other WTO members so as to advance to final negotiations on full modalities,” it added. The six year-old Doha round of talks on cutting trade barriers to agriculture, industrial goods and services is still deadlocked despite a flurry of talks at WTO headquarters in Geneva.

Developing and emerging nations are seeking cuts in rich country farm subsidies and in import tariffs for agricultural produce, while industrialised nations want better access to industrial markets in poorer economies in return.

The G20 said that agriculture remains central to the round, and will “determine the pace and level of ambition of the negotiations.” Developed countries are accountable for the main distortions and restrictions in agriculture; they must live up to their responsibilities,” the statement said.

But the G20 made no mention of industrial goods, another key issue in the Doha Round but not one where all developing countries are singing from the same hymn sheet.

For example, representatives of the Mercosur trading bloc in Latin America -- Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Uruguay and Paraguay -- proposed late last month that developing country members of customs unions be able to exclude 16 per cent of industrial products from any tariff cuts.—AFP