WTO talks deadline extended again with talks deadlocked

ABU DHABI, (Reuters) - Negotiations at the World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi yesterday were extended for another day, with the WTO saying the closing session had been delayed, and no immediate sign of breakthroughs in talks to set new global commerce rules.

The biennial conference is seeking deals on ending fishing subsidies and extending a moratorium on digital trade tariffs - a move that India and South Africa oppose.

Some negotiations carried on past midnight as officials sought to hammer out agreements on a cross section of changes to trade rules. WTO spokesperson Ismaila Dieng said ministers were working hard and making real progress. “However the negotiations are difficult because of interlinkages between the areas under negotiation,” he said, adding ministers will regroup on Friday morning to review the latest revisions.

The scheduled announcement of a final agreement after four days of intergovernmental talks between the WTO’s 164 members was pushed back for a fifth day until 2 p.m. (1000 GMT) on Friday in the Gulf state. This followed an earlier fourhour delay.

Some participants were doubtful a deal would be reached by then, telling Reuters that serious differences remained on a range of issues meant to address global trade, although others said the mood had improved slightly during the day.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai told Reuters that breakthroughs were still possible, but “complex trade-offs” would be needed even for less-difficult topics such as curbing fishing subsidies.

If some or all of the talks aimed at fixing global commerce rules do collapse, fragmentation among the BRICS bloc of emerging economies “will have contributed,” she told Reuters.

New Zealand’s trade minister Todd McClay said it was a good sign that delegates were still trying to thrash out issues.