Reuters | November 14, 2001
DOHA - Time constraints rule out drafting a new version of a text outlining the agenda of a new round of global trade talks, World Trade Organization (WTO) spokesman Keith Rockwell said on Wednesday.
"This is the last best shot at reaching agreement," Rockwell told a news conference as delegates digested a revised text drawn up during all-night negotiations.
The WTO meeting is now in its sixth day after negotiators missed a self-imposed midnight deadline to wrap up.
The text, presented to delegations around 5 a.m. (0200 GMT), contained changes designed to bridge differences over farm export subsidies and to move toward the European Union's demand that the WTO launch talks on linking trade to environmental standards.
"It's difficult to say whether everyone will be on board. The question of whether it will be agreed is very much up in the air," a trade official said.Reuters:
