As world leaders gather in Washington DC for tomorrow’s (14 November) key G20 meeting, key negotiators within the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Doha Development Round have suggested a deal could be struck by Christmas.
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The EU and possibly the US are expected to pressure India, China and others to strike a Doha deal this year at the summit.
Signals of a diplomatic push came yesterday from new EU trade commissioner Catherine Ashton.
Following a meeting with US trade representative Susan Schwab, Ashton claimed: “A Doha deal is within our grasp as the details of a final agreement could be agreed within weeks.”
The round’s food talks chairman Crawford Falconer has claimed there was significant progress in September and October, including on protecting food industries in developing countries with temporary high tariffs – an issue that wrecked the round’s crucial July summit.
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By GlobalDataHowever, a Geneva diplomat was more cautious about the prospect of a deal, telling just-food: “The EU has been pushing consistently for agreement this year, but some other delegates are saying there’s no way this can happen.”
The source said Europe and the US would have to offer major and politically unpopular subsidy cuts for a deal to go through.
