[G8] ...calls for WTO breakthrough within a month

from Reuters

By Jeff Mason and David Clarke

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Group of Eight leaders gave a boost on Sunday to efforts to secure a world trade deal by instructing their negotiators to try to finalise a framework for the stalled pact within a month.

International trade negotiators are now expected to meet as early as this week for discussions with World Trade Organisation chief Pascal Lamy, who is leading efforts to unblock the five-year-old talks which hit an impasse last month.

"We call upon all countries to commit to the concerted leadership and action needed to reach a successful conclusion of the Doha round," the text agreed by G8 leaders said.

Campaigners said a political push by the G8 chiefs was needed to get the long-delayed trade round, key to unlocking millions of people from poverty, back on track.

But setting a new deadline without pledges to compromise on agricultural tariffs and farm subsidies, the key roadblocks to progress, amounted to little, they said.

If no breakthrough comes in the next few weeks, experts say there is a risk the whole round could be put on ice for several years as the U.S. president's "fast track" power to approve trade deals without a vote in Congress expires in mid 2007.

G8 leaders of the world's top industrialised nations discussed trade in a sometimes heated debate over lunch and were to meet Lamy and leaders of five developing countries on Monday.

"There was an agreement on the deadline we gave to our negotiators and no one opposed that," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told reporters.

"There is still a lot of work to do, but I think some progress was made at this level."

UNITED FRONT?

EU officials said they were keen for a united front among the eight before they meet their counterparts from developing states Brazil, India, China, South Africa and Mexico on Monday.

India and Brazil are seen as spokesmen for the demands of the world's poorer states for a fairer trade playing field.

"The big thing is what leaders say tomorrow," a British official said. "The leaders have to say, 'we have to do a deal', and say who has to move in what areas."

But French President Jacques Chirac dampened chances of a shift in existing positions by saying the executive European Commission's negotiating mandate from the 25 EU member states had already reached its limit.

"We cannot go further... without a new mandate," he said in a statement.

EU officials, however, say they still have some room for manoeuvre, but will wait until they get assurances of reciprocating moves from other countries.

"It's disappointing to see that on substance there is simply no progress," development charity Oxfam said in a statement.

"The United States and Europe continue to mouth the rhetoric of development without offering the necessary policy reforms."

The G8 said they were committed to a conclusion to the round that would promote poor country development. They welcomed a past decision to preserve duty-free access to rich countries for goods from the world's poorest states.

The G8 also said they expect spending on development aid aimed at alleviating the impact of the reduction in trade barriers to increase to $4 billion and said this was a necessary complement to an overall Doha deal.