WTO Compromise Still Possible?

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Pascal Lamy said a new global trade deal is still possible by the end of this year despite the collapse of talks last month, the Washington Post reports.

Talks ended in July after the U.S. and India refused to compromise over a proposed safeguard mechanism to enable developing countries to protect poor farmers by raising tariffs to counter a surge in subsidized imports.  Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath has already said the halt should be treated as a pause rather than a breakdown, and the world trade body’s farm mediator called for negotiations to resume soon.

“The good news is that there may be still a possibility to move this forward, and conclude these negotiations within the time frame which all the WTO members had agreed since last year, that is end-2008,” Lamy said.