Mandelson calls for ambitious conclusion to WTO talks

EU TRADE Commissioner Peter Mandelson called yesterday for an ambitious conclusion to the floundering Doha round of trade talks, saying nations “cannot afford to wait”.

However, the World Trade Organisation’s 149 members would not succeed in that aim unless negotiations moved away from the sensitive topic of farm trade and embraced liberalisation of industrial goods and services, Mr Mandelson told a meeting of trade ministers in Hong Kong.

“We will not succeed, in Hong Kong or after, if we continue to focus on only one part of the round,” Mr Mandelson said. “We cannot afford to wait again. When the finishing line is in sight, it is the time to quicken our pace.”