Setback for WTO's Doha round

NEW DELHI: Dealing another blow to WTO's Doha Round, crucial talks between four major players at Potsdam in Germany failed on Thursday as India refused to yield any ground on giving market for farm products to rich countries.

"Talks have failed as India refused to dilute its stand on agricultural market access," Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said over phone from Germany.

"There was no convergence and there was no question of India making any compromise," he said.

The meeting of G-4 -- India, Brazil, EU and the US --began on July 19 but talks broke mid-way as there was little movement in negotiations.

India insisted developing countries should be given flexibility to address their livelihood and food security concerns through the mechanism of Special Products and Special Safeguard Mechanism.

However, the developed world is seeking enlarged market for their agricultural produce without committing to cut their farm subsidies.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg quoted Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim as saying that "it was very clear at lunch time and was said at lunch that it useless to continue the discussion based on the numbers on the table".

"The decision not to continue with the negotiation was not ours," he said in Potsdam.

Global trade talks have collapsed after hopes were revived about the Doha Round being put on the track, following several meetings of various WTO groupings.

Trade analysts consider it as a big setback since the fast track authority of US President George Bush to negotiate international trade agreements without clearance of the US Congress is going to expire by the month-end.

The renewal of this authority by the US Congress may not now be easy as senators would like concrete results for any further movement on the part of the US.

Even as negotiators from developing and developed countries had been airing their broad intention to bridge the gaps, wide differences persist on the specific amount of the cuts in import tariffs and farm subsidies that the members are willing to make.

While India, Brazil and other developing nations want EU and the US to cut and eliminate their large farm and export subsidies, the rich nations want them to reduce import duties and open markets for selling farm and manufactured goods.

Experts feel that in the absence of any headway in multilateral trade regime, the web of free trade agreements will further expand. India on its part has also initiated several moves to sign FTAs with Asean, Thailand, Singapore, Gulf Cooperation Council and even European Union.