European Union trade chief Peter Mandelson says that world trade talks are teetering on the brink of collapse and warns failure will hit developing nations most.
In comments Friday to ministers from a group of least developed nations in Lesotho, the EU Trade Commissioner says failure in the talks would create the impression that global deals on climate change or financial flows are also untenable.
Mandelson says that the parties involved in the Doha Round of trade talks have to get a deal before the US elections since a new president will have to assess the economic outlook first.
Meanwhile, the head of the World Trade Organization, Pascal Lamy said Saturday that “the Doha round of world trade talks could still be concluded by years end despite a European warning of a “high risk of failure”.
– We are nearing the end game. Whether it is a success of failure I cannot say, but its doable, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy said after meeting South African President Thabo Mbeki.
– There is much more on the table than last year, Lamy said in Pretoria, noting that doubts were normal at this point in the process.
Lamy compared the process with landing a cargo plane, saying “we know now on agriculture which portion of the tarmac we will land on. It is still a little more risky in industry … and services are more complex”.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
