Foursome aim for trade deal at Davos

Trade ministers are to meet on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Saturday (26 January) with the aim of clinching a global trade deal.

The four main actors in World Trade Organization talks, the EU, the US, Brazil and India will all be represented at the informal lunch, which is to be hosted by Doris Leuthard, Switzerland’s economics minister.

An EU trade official based in Geneva said it was unlikely that Davos would lead to any "breakthroughs", but predicted a more conciliatory attitude from developing economies Brazil, India and South Africa, which have all resisted attempts to prune industrial tariffs.

Brazil, he said, had the basic dilemma of deciding whether to be "states-manlike" or "radical leader of the developing countries", but is expected to opt for the former approach on Saturday.

European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and his US counterpart Susan Schwab on Monday (21 January) presented an upbeat assessment of negotiations, pushing for a deal by the end of the year.

Mandelson said that countries would have to agree on figures by early spring for this to be achieved. Schwab said that the talks had reached a "moment of truth".

The EU official said that Schwab’s stance, a shift from the scepticism about talks expressed last year, had "increased the sense that a deal is within our grasp". "One of the uncertainties was that there was a general perplexity on whether the US was ready to engage," he said.

Mandelson and Schwab on Monday revealed continued divisions on bilateral issues. The transatlantic dispute over genetically modified organisms (GMO) was discussed, with Schwab warning against using "bad science" to inform policymaking, a direct reference to EU moves last year to ban two strains of maize, and to France’s announcement last week of a ban on a form of GM corn developed by biotechnology firm Monsanto.

The application of a zero-tariff multilateral agreement governing electronic goods remains a bone of contention. Schwab indicated two weeks ago that the US could pursue legal action against the EU for imposing tariffs on products that were not included in the scope of the agreement, when it was drafted ten years ago.

An ongoing EU ban on US poultry treated with pathogen reduction treatments, in place since 1997, was also discussed. EU and US delegates on the Transatlantic Economic Council, which convened for the first time last year, identified the lifting of the ban as a major priority. The issue, said Schwab, would be a "litmus test" for the council.

Trade ministers are to meet on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Saturday (26 January) with the aim of clinching a global trade deal.