WTO talks collapse in Cancun

MEXICO – Global trade talks, which ended at the weekend, failed to make as much progress as some attendees hoped and highlighted the huge divisions that remain between rich and poor countries.

No solution was reached on a new free trade accord, which means the World Trade Organisation could well miss its January 2005 deadline for completing the Doha round of talks aimed at liberalising trade.

US trade representative Robert Zoellick was concerned about the implications for the talks, and said: “It’s hard for me to believe that in the position we are now, we will be able to finish on time.” Fonterra chairman Henry van der Heyden also expressed surprise and disappointment at the break-up of the talks: “These talks were a major opportunity to push the Doha development round forward. It’s very disappointing that they have fallen over – apparently because of issues other than culture.” He added that while he felt the draft text on agriculture still fell short of Fonterra’s hopes for the outright elimination of export subsidies and substantial market access improvements in dairy, he still felt it was an improvement on where it was before Cancun.