Positions clarified as trade talks start

By David Loyn
BBC international development correspondent, Geneva

Brazil's Mr Amorim wants Europe to come up with a better offer

As delegates from more than 150 countries gathered in Geneva for make or break talks to break a deadlock in reaching a new world trade deal, their public positions appeared more hard line than ever.

The issue that most divides the richest countries from the poorest remains the same as is did when the process was launched at Doha seven years ago - just how far the developed world is prepared to cut farm subsidies in order to gain access to markets for manufactured goods and services.

The stronger emerging economies, Brazil, India and China, have come under sustained pressure to lower tariff barriers further, but Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim rejected this in characteristically bullish form arriving for the talks.

He followed up his eve of conference comparison of the negotiating stance of the rich world as being similar to the tactics used by Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.

Arriving for the opening day he spoke of the "self-righteousness" of the developed world, who he said were claiming the moral high ground, while still giving their farmers an unfair advantage.

He made it clear that unless the developed world, including the EU negotiator Peter Mandelson, made a better offer, then there cannot be a final deal.

"Let us see if he has actually given everything or if he still has something left to give. I hope he has."

No further

For his part Mr Mandelson said that he was proud of what Europe had offered, leading the process "again and again and again".

The US move on subsidies has been a convenient target for a number of countries that would rather not get to the other parts of the negotiation Susan Schwab, US trade representative

"But we must see some proportionate matching efforts from the more competitive developing countries as well," he said.

This position was backed up in a briefing by the French Secretary of State for Trade Anne-Marie Idrac who said that Mr Mandelson's mandate was Europe's bottom line.

"'We cannot go further," she said. "We will not go further."

Most of the pressure is on the US, where a new Farm Bill has been approved by Congress that allows for higher subsidies than are proposed in Geneva.

But the US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said that the emphasis on US subsidies is a distraction from the real business in Geneva.

"The US move on subsidies has been a convenient target for a number of countries that would rather not get to the other parts of the negotiation," he said

"We know we have a contribution to make, we are prepared to make that contribution… in the context of a successful round that has the promise of generating new trade flows."

Now or never

All of these public statements disguise the final hands of negotiators, but behind the scenes agreement remains elusive as no country is willing to do anything against its own interests.

Europe's offer is final in spite of calls for it to do more

There can be no deal unless all agree, and there are fundamental issues remaining to be hammered out for example on cotton and bananas, while a strong statement from the G-33 group of developing countries has called the current draft statement "unbalanced".

This announcement, from a group of countries that includes India and China, was made by the Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangesu, who wants to be allowed to provide protection for key products in a country where 60% of people still rely on farming.

She said "it is now or never".

"The developed countries have to demonstrate their leadership in this crucial juncture by showing flexibilities and providing movement from their entrenched positions."

Interests and limitations

There is no doubting the sense of history around these talks.

Mr Mandelson said "if we fail this week then we will have missed a once in a generation opportunity".

The US election imposes an immovable timetable, and a sense of drama around the talks heightened as the Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath had to fly home from Geneva to vote in a crucial confidence motion facing his coalition government.

The Secretary-General of the WTO, Pascal Lamy, likened the task ahead in the next few days to climbing Mont Blanc.

He said that delegates were fit, and had maps and provisions, "but the only way to reach the top is understanding each others interests and limitations".

In public at least there is so far no sign of that.