Doha trade talks 'will not be finalised in 2011'

South Africa believes that the Doha round of trade talks will not be finalised this year and that “the 2011 window of opportunity is closed”, according to Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies.

Davies said that the round would focus on delivering a plan b, which would focus on the less controversial issues with the prime aim of delivering something substantial to less developed countries.

“The immediate conclusion is that the 2011 window of opportunity would not be met,” Davies said at a press briefing on Monday. “While much of the membership is not willing to say that much of the round is over, the sense is that, if the counties work harder and harder and put more muscle into the process, it still would not work,” he said.

Davies said that, at a recent ministerial conference, attendees focused on what part of plan b could be delivered, even if on a smaller scale.

This included some subjects that were less controversial in terms of the World Trade Organisation’s talks, such as trade facilitation issues, customs cooperation, the abolishment of subsidies on exports, non-tariff barriers in industrial tariffs, rules about regional trade agreements, as well as fishing subsidies.

Davies said that even the watered-down plan should focus on sticking to the original aim of the Doha round of trade talks, which aims to benefit developing countries.

“Our view is that the fundamental and primary focus should be to deliver something to the least developed countries as promised in a package that was to be delivered in 2008—and that is already very, very late,” he said.

Davies said that the Plan B should result in some form of duty-free access to developed economies, some kind of package of aid for trade, and reducing tariffs on cotton—an issue that has “bedevilled” sub-Saharan Africa.—I-Net Bridge