Will find way forward: Lamy on Doha talks

World Trade Organization chief Pascal Lamy, who has abandoned the much-publicised ministerial meeting due to its expected failure, says he will commence work this week to chalk out the way forward for the beleaguered Doha trade negotiations.

Trade diplomats said that at an informal trade negotiations committee meeting on Friday, Lamy said he was forced to cancel the meeting due to lack of right political signals.

He had reportedly called US trade representative Ambassador Susan Schwab on Thursday night to know whether he should pull the plug on the ministerial meeting. In response, Washington told him that it was the director general’s call to decide, trade diplomats said.

Lamy failed to convince the United States to give up its entrenched positions that India, China and Brazil join zero-for-zero tariff elimination talks on the chemicals, industrial products, and electricals and electronics sectors.

“It is the third time that Lamy raised the expectations of finalising the modalities in his tenure of more than three years, and every time he was unable to deliver,” said a senior trade official from an African country.

At a press conference, when asked to explain what lessons he drew from his third failed attempt, Lamy said trade negotiations always went up and down.