The World Trade Organization (WTO) on Saturday issued revised texts for negotiations on agricultural trade and non-agricultural market access (NAMA), paving the way for a possible ministerial meeting.
These texts, the fourth revisions of negotiating documents first submitted to members in July 2007, are the outcome of latest discussions in negotiation groups and would be the basis for crucial talks if a representative group of ministers return to Geneva later this month, WTO said in a statement.
The latest drafts also try to capture agreement reached tentatively on some subjects when a group of ministers came to Geneva in July and tried but failed to reach agreement on these issues, it said.
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy immediately welcomed the revised negotiating documents on agriculture and NAMA, which he said should move the Doha Round of global trade negotiations closer to completion.
He said the documents are balanced and accurately capture progress made since July. They also "clearly define those areas where members disagree."
"I am now gauging the reaction of members to these texts and members' willingness to converge on modalities by the end of the year," he said.
Lamy has indicated that key WTO ministers could be convened next week to make another attempt for a breakthrough in the Doha Round.
The target is to reach an outline deal on agricultural trade and NAMA, the two crucial and most sticky areas in the negotiations.
The latest texts were drafted by WTO chair for agriculture negotiations Crawford Falconer, and his counterpart for NAMA, Luzius Wasescha, respectively.
The two chairs acknowledged that WTO members are still divided on such delicate issues as sensitive products and SSM (Special Safeguard Mechanism) in agriculture and sectorals in NAMA.
(Xinhua News Agency December 7, 2008)