High tension at WTO as trade talks face 'appalling' collapse

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

GENEVA (AFP) — Tension rose sharply as gruelling WTO talks to hammer out a global trade pact ran into a ninth day on Tuesday, with leading nations urging flexibility to avert an "appalling" collapse.

Describing the mood in a morning meeting of ministers, Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said there was an understanding that "nobody wants a failure" and that all parties were trying to be constructive.

"More than half felt that while the issues that remain are complex and it seems we've never been so far, we're actually so near because so much has been agreed on," she told reporters.

"We need to go to this last mile, but this last mile is a significant issue," she said.

Ministers are struggling to close differences on subsidies and import...