WTO talks enter crunch stage as Bali summit looms

Negotiators are under mounting pressure to finalise a deal ahead of a WTO summit seen as a make or break moment for the body that oversees the rules of global commerce.
Roberto Azevedo, who took over as WTO director general in September, has vowed to spare no effort during last-ditch talks at its Geneva base, as diplomats struggle to craft a draft accord to ease barriers to global commerce.
The World Trade Organisation's 159 member economies are locked in what officials dub a "meat-grinder", striving to bridge differences between rich countries, emerging powers and the world's poorest nations over the concessions needed to yield a deal for a ministerial summit on December 3-6 on the Indonesian island of Bali.

The WTO's ruling body, the General Council, is scheduled on November 21 to decide whether it can put a deal on the table in Bali.
Trade sources said there is little prospect for real negotiation in Bali itself to seal a deal.
The summit is seen as perhaps the last chance to revive the WTO's so-called "Doha Round" of talks, launched in 2001 in Qatar.

The round's goal is to craft a wide-ranging global accord on opening markets and removing trade barriers, in order to harness international commerce to develop poorer economies.
WTO rules require such deals to be unanimous, but bitter differences over the necessary give and take have sparked clashes notably between China, the European Union, India and the United States, leaving the talks stalled for years and leading many countries to shift focus to bilateral and regional deals.

No results in Bali would mean no serious WTO negotiations for a long time, trade sources said, underlining that regional deals tend to involve rich countries or emerging powers, sidelining the poorest nations.
Negotiators have long written off the chances of Bali offering major Doha Round headway, and have sought lower-level accords that could be fed into the wider package later.
One is on "trade facilitation", the crux of which is simplifying customs procedures, a move forecast to cut trading costs by 10 percent for rich nations and around 14 percent for the developing world.
Another division is over "food security", pushed by India, under which developing countries want to be allowed to subsidise grain stockpiling to help low-income farmers and consumers.

India and like-minded nations argue that protecting the poor trumps rules on weaning WTO members off subsidies.
Critics, however, say there is a risk that despite stated noble intentions, stockpiles could leak onto the domestic or international market, skewing global farm commerce.