Barroso calls for more concessions from developing economies ahead of WTO talks

LEIGH PHILLIPS Today @ 09:21 CET All eyes are on Geneva on Monday (21 July) as world trade talks open in a last-ditch attempt at reaching a global agreement some seven years after discussions were launched. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, in a statement released on Sunday night as trade ministers from 30 nations met for dinner in the Swiss city ahead of the negotiations, called the talks the "last great opportunity" for a deal, and called on the third world to make greater concessions. "For those negotiations to succeed, the other developed countries and the emerging economies in the WTO also have to make a major contribution," he said. "Europe cannot be the sole banker of this deal," he added. "Moreover, Doha is not just about agriculture -- we also need to make progress on industrial tariffs, and in other... [read full story]