Little optimism over Doha Round talks

GENEVA: Many analysts are still pessimistic about the outlook of the Doha Round of global trade negotiations, despite recent positive signs.

Following a mini-ministerial meeting held between Sept 3 and 4 in New Delhi, senior officials of key World Trade Organization (WTO) members agreed here on Tuesday on a work plan aimed at pushing forward the long-stalled negotiations in the next few months, which was claimed as a Doha Round breakthrough.

But many analysts see these positive signs as superficial, as the tough issues that have blocked the talks since their launch in 2001 are still unresolved and key WTO members are not moving their positions. The issues involve farm tariffs and subsidies as well as industrial market access.