This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/6304907.stm
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Push to revive world trade talks | Push to revive world trade talks |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Trade ministers from some 30 countries are meeting in Davos, Switzerland, to see if they can revive negotiations on liberalising global trade. | Trade ministers from some 30 countries are meeting in Davos, Switzerland, to see if they can revive negotiations on liberalising global trade. |
| The negotiations were suspended last July amid sharp differences over farm subsidies and import tariffs. | The negotiations were suspended last July amid sharp differences over farm subsidies and import tariffs. |
| The ministers' talks take place on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. | The ministers' talks take place on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. |
| Addressing the forum, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged rich nations to show flexibility to help conclude a vital agreement. | Addressing the forum, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged rich nations to show flexibility to help conclude a vital agreement. |
| "We have never been so close to doing a deal like this," he told the gathering of political and business leaders during a session on Friday. | "We have never been so close to doing a deal like this," he told the gathering of political and business leaders during a session on Friday. |
| Lula said Brazil was ready to make concession if Europe and the US were also prepared to move. | Lula said Brazil was ready to make concession if Europe and the US were also prepared to move. |
| If it succeeds, great. If it fails, it will be catastrophic Tony Blair UK Prime Minister | If it succeeds, great. If it fails, it will be catastrophic Tony Blair UK Prime Minister |
| A trade agreement could help ease poverty in many countries and inject billions of dollars into the global economy, he said. | A trade agreement could help ease poverty in many countries and inject billions of dollars into the global economy, he said. |
| South African Trade Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa told Reuters his country was very concerned at the prospect of failure. | South African Trade Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa told Reuters his country was very concerned at the prospect of failure. |
| "We never had a round with so much on the table and the likelihood of losing it all is quite big," he said. | "We never had a round with so much on the table and the likelihood of losing it all is quite big," he said. |
| However, British Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed optimism that the World Trade Organization's (WTO) talks, known as the Doha Round, could resume, amid signs that everyone was prepared to make concessions. | |
| "If it succeeds, great. If it fails, it will be catastrophic," Mr Blair said. | "If it succeeds, great. If it fails, it will be catastrophic," Mr Blair said. |
| Business groups have also been stepping up calls for governments to reach a deal. | Business groups have also been stepping up calls for governments to reach a deal. |
| WTO Director General Pascal Lamy is pushing for progress by July The Doha Development Agenda was launched in 2001, but has repeatedly stalled. | WTO Director General Pascal Lamy is pushing for progress by July The Doha Development Agenda was launched in 2001, but has repeatedly stalled. |
| The 150 members of the WTO have agreed that the current trade round should be designed to help developing countries, while opening up new markets for industrialised nations. | |
| The US and EU want developing countries like Brazil and India to open their economies to industrial goods and services. | The US and EU want developing countries like Brazil and India to open their economies to industrial goods and services. |
| Developing nations argue that the US and the European Union must cut agricultural subsidies and tariffs if progress is to be made. | Developing nations argue that the US and the European Union must cut agricultural subsidies and tariffs if progress is to be made. |
| There is some urgency to the talks, because US President George Bush will lose his fast-track authority for trade negotiations in July. After that date US Congress could scupper a deal by blocking key provisions of the treaty. | |
| 'Fast-track' deals | 'Fast-track' deals |
| The BBC's economics correspondent, Andrew Walker, says there have recently been signs that the US and EU are more willing to move in this key area. | |
| Progress here will not be enough to produce a full agreement, he says, but it could be a big factor in getting the negotiations moving once again. | Progress here will not be enough to produce a full agreement, he says, but it could be a big factor in getting the negotiations moving once again. |
| The ultimate aim of the Doha Round is a wide-ranging deal to reduce barriers to trade in agriculture, industrial goods and many types of services, from banking to tourism and computing. | The ultimate aim of the Doha Round is a wide-ranging deal to reduce barriers to trade in agriculture, industrial goods and many types of services, from banking to tourism and computing. |
| If the talks do resume in earnest, the US government will have to try to persuade Congress to renew President George W Bush's "fast-track" authority to approve trade deals. | If the talks do resume in earnest, the US government will have to try to persuade Congress to renew President George W Bush's "fast-track" authority to approve trade deals. |
| This is due to expire at the end of June and WTO Director General Pascal Lamy is trying to encourage member countries to make sufficient progress by then to convince the now Democrat-controlled US Congress that it is worth renewing the arrangement. | This is due to expire at the end of June and WTO Director General Pascal Lamy is trying to encourage member countries to make sufficient progress by then to convince the now Democrat-controlled US Congress that it is worth renewing the arrangement. |
| But if Congress decides not to renew the presidential authority, any WTO deal risks being picked apart by US lawmakers, correspondents say, meaning the Doha negotiations could be delayed for several more years or even collapse. | But if Congress decides not to renew the presidential authority, any WTO deal risks being picked apart by US lawmakers, correspondents say, meaning the Doha negotiations could be delayed for several more years or even collapse. |