General view of the room during the speech of the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iveala at the opening ceremony of the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12), at the World Trade Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, June 12, 2022 Martial Trezzini / Pool via REUTERS
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- The WTO Ministerial Meeting is entering its final day
- Intensive talks with ministers continued until dawn
- A package of deals is still possible, sources say
- The talks cover fishing, vaccines, food security
GENEVA, June 16 (Reuters) – Negotiations at the World Trade Organization aimed at food security, fishing and vaccine deals entered their final hours on Thursday after talks overnight, with some trade sources hoping bypassing the Indian opposition will succeed.
Ministers from more than 100 countries are meeting at Geneva’s global trade office this week for the first time in more than four years to develop new trade rules, a feat many doubt in an era of high geopolitical tensions. Read more
All 164 members of the body must agree to the adoption of new rules on global trade, which means that one member can block transactions.
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In the meeting from 12 to 15 June this week, extended to Thursday afternoon, this member was India. New Delhi, which has a history of blocking multilateral negotiations, has stuck to long-standing demands to keep subsidies on fisheries and agriculture and is pushing for further restrictions, trade sources said.
Statements by Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal confirmed these demands.
“India strongly presents its perspective in the WTO
to protect the future of every Indian and that of the marginalized, “he said on Twitter.
For a box of facts about the WTO negotiations, see here: read more
However, sources close to the discussions were more optimistic on Thursday morning, saying a package of compromise deals was possible. “It looks better, but it’s too early to say whether it’s coming into place or falling apart,” said a WTO delegate.
Negotiators, including US Trade Representative Catherine Ty, took part in the so-called WTO Green Room talks most of the night, trying to break up the agreements. She tweeted a photo of Lake Geneva at sunrise, without providing up-to-date information on the talks. Negotiations resumed around 07:00 GMT and continue, trade sources said.
One possible outcome of the talks is a simplified version of the deal, designed to limit fishing subsidies that cause overfishing, according to a document seen by Reuters. Another is the waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines and promises to alleviate the food security crisis.
WTO officials said during the meetings that agreements could be reached, saying talks often seemed hopeless until a final deal was reached.
“We are still hoping for a result,” said WTO spokesman Daniel Pruzin.
Observers expressed disappointment with the process.
“The ministerial (conference) has revealed growing dysfunction that is hampering collective action in the WTO,” said Jake Colvin, president of the National Council on Foreign Trade, adding that members should not be rewarded for “obstructionism.”
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Report by Emma Farge; additional reports by Andrea Shalal in Washington and Phil Blankinsop in Brussels; Edited by Raju Gopalakrishnan
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