OTTAWA -- Anxious to prevent World Trade Organization talks on liberalizing trade from stalling this September in Mexico, member countries have scheduled extra preparatory talks in Canada this July to help bridge differences beforehand.
Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew has agreed to play host to a meeting in Montreal that will bring together representatives from about 20 key countries to help narrow divisions on trade matters such as agriculture and drugs.
The September WTO meeting in Cancun will be the first big get-together of the 140-member global trade body since November, 2001, when countries launched a broad round of talks in Qatar to expand global commerce, a move aimed at dampening rising protectionist sentiment as the economic outlook darkened.
But the Cancun meeting is at risk of failure because developing countries, which dominate its membership, are angry about unfinished business from previous talks to lower agricultural barriers and provide access to drugs.
"I remain concerned with the wide gaps between the position on important files and certainly on the agricultural negotiations," Mr. Pettigrew said.
"If we want Cancun to be a success, given the gaps that still separate the key members of the WTO, it is imperative more work be done and that's why I proposed the Montreal [meeting]."
The so-called Doha WTO round in Qatar, the first fresh set of talks in 15 years, only got off the ground after industrialized countries pledged greater access to cheap versions of patented drugs and vowed to kick-start sluggish efforts to remove barriers to agricultural trade, the mainstay of many developing countries. Insufficient progress has been made on both files since then.
Mr. Pettigrew warned wealthier countries must strike a deal to guarantee developing countries access to less expensive drugs as was promised in Qatar.
"This would be in my view very important for the credibility of our work: we would lose a lot of credibility with the poorest countries if we were not able to deliver on something we had committed to do by Dec. 31 last year."
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