Mandelson: WTO deal on ‘knife edge’

GLOBAL trade talks are expected to resume shortly but the European Commissioner Peter Mandelson is predicting that they will end within a few months with the chances of a deal on a knife edge.

Trade officials from key countries meet next week in Davos, Switzerland, in an attempt to reanimate negotiations, with agriculture still a crucial issue.

Mr Mandelson warned that the talks may bog down for years unless the World Trade Organisation’s 150 governments clinch an accord before US President George Bush’s negotiating mandate from the US Congress expires in July.