Some new developments may be around the corner in the Doha Round of trade liberalization talks.
The talks, suspended since the stalemate last July, have covered everything from nonfarm trade and market access to service and investment and development since they were launched by the World Trade Organization in November 2001. But the main stumbling block has always been agriculture.
The Doha declaration called on industrialized countries to phase out agricultural subsidies but failed to set out a concrete timetable. Today, negotiators from major powers are deadlocked over what to do with the export subsidies provided by the United States, the European Union subsidies provided to local farmers, and the high tariffs imposed by Japan on importers of agricultural goods -- all because of their respective domestic political considerations.