WTO meet to begin next week

NEW DELHI: A marathon meeting of senior trade officials of key members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will begin in Geneva early next week to pave way for a mini-ministerial next month aimed at locking-in the progress made in the on-going Doha round under the regime of US President George Bush.

Protecting poor farmers and its infant industrial sectors from indiscriminate liberalisation is likely to be on top of India���s agenda in the crucial meet.

In the mini-ministerial meeting in December, which is to follow the senior officials meeting, trade ministers are expected to make this year���s last effort to agree on rules for dismantling tariff and subsidy barriers in agriculture and industrial goods (Nama) in a bid to give a substantial push to the ongoing Doha round towards completion.

Speaking to ET, a government official, who did not wish to be identified said this meeting would be important as it would be the Bush government���s last chance to contribute to the round. ���If there is an agreement on agriculture and Nama in December, it could be locked in, and the discussions on other areas could proceed under the Barack Obama government,��� the official said.

Although trade ministers participating in the mini-ministerial meeting in July this year in Geneva failed to arrive at a deal on agriculture and Nama, there were several gains which were made.

���There are lots of things on the table which are a definite improvement over how things are at present. If we do not reach an agreement in December, we would lose an important opportunity to take up offers such as the one made by the US to reduce its bound farm subsidies to $14 billion from more that $40 billion at present,��� the official added.