Three-month long Doha trade talks start Monday

New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) Negotiators from key WTO members,
including India, China and the US, will begin the marathon
three-month meeting in Geneva from Monday to sort out vexed
issues hampering conclusion of the Doha Round of trade talks.

The trade negotiators, who are working against a tight
schedule, will engage themselves in intense deliberations and
prepare the ground for a high-level stalk taking meeting
scheduled in March.
Unless the trade negotiators are able to sort out the
problems with regard to agricultural and industrial goods
among the WTO members, it would be difficult to meet the 2010
deadline for conclusion of the Doha Round, an official said.
Global leaders, including the G-20 members, have been
seeking completion of the Doha Round of talks in 2010.
"The stock taking exercise which may be done by senior
officials is very important for the progress of the talks...
everyone is saying that by the end of this year the Round
should be concluded," the official said.
In February, the negotiators will hold parallel
deliberations on agriculture, non-agricultural products and
services, while in March intellectual property rights,
technology transfer, trade in goods and trade facilitation
issues would be discussed.
The problem areas of the talk include high-level of farm
subsidy in developed countries, demand for better market
access for industrial products in the developing countries,
level of farmers' protection in the poor and developing
countries like India. MORE PTI RR
ANU


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