Prospects of WTO Nairobi conference remain "very uncertain": EU official

The World Trade Organization (WTO) should keep working on outstanding Doha Development Agenda issues "but with new approaches," EU high official said on Monday ahead of the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in the following days in Nairobi.

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said in a statement WTO needs new approaches because the global trade has evolved since the Doha round started 14 years ago.

"The EU has a deep and longstanding commitment to multilateralism in trade, however the prospects of the Nairobi conference remain "very uncertain," said Malmstrom.

She called upon all WTO partners to come to the negotiating table in good faith and prepare for the final necessary stretch needed on the limited issues selected for the talks this week.

she said the EU is also concerned with the deep persisting differences in positions of the WTO members as it comes to the WTO post-Nairobi agenda.

Regarding agriculture issues, the trade commissioner said "we need a balanced outcome in agriculture dealing with all forms of export support, benefiting in particular the most vulnerable developing countries" and the EU was ready to give up its right to use export subsidies but only as part of a comprehensive, balanced deal based on parallelism.

The WTO ministerial discussion will also center on the topic of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), on which the EU wants to see progress on trade preferences on goods and services, rules of origin, and cotton, said Malmstrom. Endit