Deadline tight for WTO deal

WELLINGTON – An agreement on boosting global trade in farm and industrial goods by the April 30 deadline is looking difficult, New Zealand’s trade minister said yesterday.

Trade ministers will meet in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos today and tomorrow for the first time since a conference in Hong Kong last month at which they decided to put back the deadline for agreeing a draft free-trade deal until the end of April. But New Zealand Trade Minister Phil Goff, currently in Switzerland where he met World Trade Organisation (WTO) chief Pascal Lamy, said there was a narrow window of opportunity to finalise issues.”Getting this done by 30 April will be tight, but the technical work can be done if there is the political will and direction from ministers for the work to be completed,” Goff said in a statement.New Zealand’s economy, which is virtually subsidy-free, is dependent on agricultural exports and a strong supporter of freeing-up access for farm goods.The European Union has offered cuts of some 40 per cent in duties, while keeping barriers on a clutch of “sensitive” products, in addition to reductions currently being made in its farm spending – the Common Agricultural Policy.-Nampa-ReutersBut New Zealand Trade Minister Phil Goff, currently in Switzerland where he met World Trade Organisation (WTO) chief Pascal Lamy, said there was a narrow window of opportunity to finalise issues.”Getting this done by 30 April will be tight, but the technical work can be done if there is the political will and direction from ministers for the work to be completed,” Goff said in a statement.New Zealand’s economy, which is virtually subsidy-free, is dependent on agricultural exports and a strong supporter of freeing-up access for farm goods.The European Union has offered cuts of some 40 per cent in duties, while keeping barriers on a clutch of “sensitive” products, in addition to reductions currently being made in its farm spending – the Common Agricultural Policy.-Nampa-Reuters