Singapore, a bridge-builder in global trade talks, sees a “reasonable chance” that next week's high-stakes push for consensus in the Doha round will yield success, a senior government official said on Monday. Ravi Menon of the Singaporean trade and industry ministry said ministers gathering from July 21 in Geneva would not be able to settle every issue in the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations on cuts to export-impairing tariffs and subsidies. But the second permanent secretary, in Geneva to lead Singapore's delegation for a routine WTO policy review, said the meeting could result in the broad outlines of a deal in agriculture and manufactured goods, clearing the way for a comprehensive accord that would also span cross-border services. “There is a reasonable chance of achieving some breakthrough ... that would be a major victory,” he told journalists at WTO headquarters on the shores of Lake Geneva. Singapore, like Mexico and Malaysia, is a middle-ground player in the often-heated Doha round talks where rich and poor countries have often sparred in pursuit of a deal that stands to add billions of dollars to the global economy. The US and Europe are hoping to secure access to emerging markets for their manufacturers' exports in exchange for cutting the subsidies and import duties that have skewed the world price of agricultural products such as cotton, wheat and milk, and made it hard for poor farmers to sell their crops. Major developing countries, often led by Brazil and India, are seeking room to shield some of their industrial sectors from added competition in the talks, which have missed deadline after deadline since their launch in Qatar in November 2001. Menon said that Singapore believed a final agreement could be reached within the spectrum of cuts in negotiating papers circulated last week in Geneva, which will form the basis of next week's brokering between ministers.
