TOKYO -- The World Trade Organization's chief told Japan on Tuesday that some big hurdles need to be overcome before a ministerial meeting can be convened by the end of the year in an attempt to achieve a breakthrough in the Doha Round of trade liberalization talks, Japanese officials said.
WTO Director General Pascal Lamy and Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshihiro Nikai held a telephone conversation a day after the trade body postponed setting a date for a ministerial meeting in Geneva, due to a serious rift between rich and poor countries on the core issues of farm and industrial trade.
Lamy said it would be difficult to advance the long-running negotiations unless WTO members narrow differences over three major sticking points -- proposals to eliminate tariffs in specific industrial sectors, a mechanism to safeguard poor farmers from a surge in imports and subsidies for U.S. cotton, they said.
During the 35-minute conversation, Lamy said he will consult with key trading powers over the next several days and see whether any sign of convergence emerges among them.
Although Lamy told a group of WTO ambassadors in Geneva on Monday that he may arrange a ministerial meeting for Dec. 17 to 19 if all goes well, the postponement strengthened the view that a ministerial meeting in December is less likely than before.
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The WTO chief had initially hoped to invite trade ministers to Geneva from Saturday.
The meeting has been under consideration since the leaders of the Group of 20 developed and emerging economies called about a month ago at their financial summit in Washington for an outline deal by the year-end as a way to breathe new life into the ailing global economy.
