The World Trade Organization (WTO) chief Pascal Lamy called for reflection on Wednesday after a crucial bid for a breakthrough in the Doha Round of global trade talks failed.
"I think we all now need to engage a serious reflection on the next steps of our collective endeavor, which is the Doha Development Agenda," WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy told delegates in a meeting called after the dramatic collapse.
"I believe we have collective responsibility to begin this process of reflection right now," he said.
After nine days of marathon negotiations, trade ministers from over 30 major WTO members failed to narrow their differences on agriculture trade and industrial market access, the two key and harshly disputed areas of the Doha Round.
The meeting had been billed as the last chance for a conclusion of the long-stalled Doha Round this year, but the effort was stopped by an unresolved dispute between the United States and India on the so-called special safeguard mechanism, which would allow developing countries to raise agriculture tariffs to protect domestic farmers in the event of an import surge.
Lamy said all members now need to seriously reflect about "if and when" they can remove obstacles for a final conclusion of a new global trade pact.
"Whether it has been deadlocked, we have to find new idea and new solutions," he said.
Source:Xinhua
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