A World Trade Organisation (WTO) mediator issued proposals on Monday to open up services such as telecoms and banking, as France decried last week’s negotiating texts on farming and industrial goods as a step backwards.
But EU trade chief Peter Mandelson said he had “overwhelming support” to press on with the Doha round talks to open up world trade, which are now in their seventh year.
The new services text, replacing a previous one issued in February, set no dates for revised offers or final commitments in the services negotiations.
And the document, by Mexico’s WTO ambassador, Fernando de Mateo y Venturini, who chairs the services talks, showed big differences between developed and developing countries on how to proceed.
“Members shared the view that substantial efforts were needed to reach a successful conclusion of the negotiations,” Mateo said in his report, summarizing progress in the services talks in the Doha round over the past few months.
Services account for 70 percent or more of most developed economies and 50 percent or more of many developing ones pay day loans. But they account for only 19 percent of world trade.
CRUCIAL TEST
The WTO’s Doha round faces a crucial test in the next few weeks, after which the U.S. presidential election may cause years of further delays in the negotiations.
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