GATT Pushes Its Trade-Talk Deadline Back
GATT chief Arthur Dunkel on Friday set a new mid-April deadline to conclude the long-running Uruguay Round of global trade talks.
A successful end to the negotiations, begun in 1986 and now more than a year beyond the original target for conclusion, is widely seen as vital for the world economy.
Diplomats said the next three months will be marked by fierce wrangling, especially on the vexed question of reducing levels of farm subsidies.
But Dunkel, speaking at a news conference, sounded optimistic, saying everyone wants to conclude the talks.
“On the basis of the consultations I have had, there is a basis for consensus to enter the final sprint,” said Dunkel, director-general of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. “The round should finish . . . before Easter (April 19).”
Dunkel submitted a 450-page draft agreement, covering everything from services and intellectual property rights to agriculture, to the 108 participants on Dec. 20. It was informally billed as a take-it-or-leave-it package.
Delegates are due to give their governments’ initial responses at a meeting in Geneva on Monday, but Dunkel, aiming to take any drama out of the situation, said this encounter would not make or break the round.
“This is obviously not going to be the crunch session that many people had been predicting,” a senior trade source said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
