The previous round had lasted eight years

Five years of talks, perhaps for nothing. Called, last week by the heads of State and Government of the G8 to intensify their efforts to conclude, here at the end of the year, Doha round, launched in 2001 by the world trade (WTO) Organization, six countries key negotiators (the G6 brings the Australia, the Brazil, the United States, the India, the Japan and the Union European) separated yesterday on a finding of deep disagreement. To the extent that these negotiations on the liberalisation of world trade, which were supposed to be completed late 2004, are suspended. For a period of "a few months to several years", even yesterday found Kamal Nath, India's Minister of trade.

A new meeting was scheduled for the end of the week was canceled. Asked about the date a possible resumption of negotiations, the Director General of the WTO, Pascal Lamy, responded last night: "the time will come only when the Member countries will be ready to play the game." "It is clear that the ball is now in their camp", he added.

An uncertain outcome

As the tradition of these negotiations, each identified its responsibility. The European Commissioner for trade, Peter Mandelson, widely "instructed" the United States, which spends approximately 19.6 billion in internal aid per year to help farmers, accusing them of being the only ones to show flexibility to break the deadlock cycle. "The United States were unable or unwilling to recognize the flexibility displayed by their partners and, accordingly, have been unable to show any flexibility on the issue of agricultural subsidies", he said. An opinion relayed by the India, which found that the objectives of development of this cycle had been trampled at the foot.

The US trade representative, Susan Schwab, gave a different version of the situation. Ensuring that the United States were ready "to do more for domestic subsidies", she found that its partners were, first and foremost, concerned about discuss ways out of the opening of the markets including protecting certain products to a marked reduction in customs duties.

"A number of developed countries and emerging countries were seeking ways to avoid an ambitious contribution", she and hammered, with Europe and the India sights markets that continental U.S. agricultural exporters.

The multilateral trading system is certainly not the first crisis. The previous round had lasted eight years. The outcome of the impasse which is immersed Doha round remains however very uncertain. The Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Celso Amorim, yesterday called for a rapid resumption of the discussions. Behind the scenes, some spoke of the month of November, when the US mid-term elections will be past, with the hope that the Congress that will come out is more favourable agricultural concessions.

Since their launch, the talks on the cycle of Doha, relating to a liberalization of markets agricultural, industrial and services proved laborious. Developing countries, which represent two thirds of the members of the WTO, has continued to claim a rebalancing of trade rules in their favour, by including the reduction of subsidies and the opening of agricultural markets of the countries rich, United States and European Union in mind, their large horse in battle. The only real progress was observed in December 2005, at the Hong Kong Summit, when the European Union had committed under pressure to remove its subsidies to exports on the horizon to 2013.

Shopping in "triangle".

Since this meeting in the former British colony, the commercial bargaining perpetually surrounded a "triangle", the United States being required to reduce their internal agricultural aid, the European Union to lower its agricultural tariffs and in developing countries, with the exception of the poorest of them, to open their industrial markets. Whereas this balance point is today not found, Peter Mandelson nevertheless called yesterday members of the WTO to move forward on the most sensitive issues for the poorest countries: the increase in international assistance to facilitate their integration in international trade and the opening of markets without quotas or tariffs of rich countries and emerging economies for the benefit of the products imported from the least developed countries.