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Kamal Nath hopeful for Doha meeting
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Some contentious details that have been preventing
high-level talks on the World Trade Organization's Doha round
may soon be ironed out, Trade Minister Kamal Nath said on
Tuesday.
"I am optimistic that some of the issues that still remain
unresolved will get resolved in the next four to six weeks,"
said at luncheon meeting of business executives.
Nath did not specify which issues he was referring to.
Negotiators were still trying to work out some sticking points
related to the Doha round of free trade negotiations, which
was launched in 2001.
Some of the issues include farm subsidies in the developed
world and reductions in agricultural and industrial import
tariffs for both rich and poor nations. The United States also
wants discussions about the services sector if a
ministerial-level meeting is held.
"Minister Nath and I will be working very, very hard over the
next coming months to try to capture the elusive breakthrough
that we have been struggling for over the last six plus
years," US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said at the same
meeting.
Schwab's and Nath's comments came ahead of a meeting of the
United States-India Trade Policy Forum. Those talks are
scheduled to last for two days.
A meeting this spring of trade ministers from around the world
is seen as a last-gasp bid to strike a global trade deal.
After that, the round risks further years of delay or outright
collapse as the United States heads into presidential
elections, followed by the start of a new administration.
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