WTO chief sees "good signs" for Doha

JAKARTA (Reuters) - The head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Wednesday he sees "good signs" for calling a meeting to conclude the Doha trade round, "but we're not there yet".

WTO Director General Pascal Lamy made the comments to Reuters on the sidelines of a conference on trade in Indonesia.

Lamy had said earlier in February that he sensed fresh determination to conclude the Doha round of global trade talks, but would wait for more substance before calling trade ministers together for that purpose.

Asked in Jakarta where the process now stood, he said: "I think it's cooking, and I have sort of good signs coming from the kitchen, but we're not yet there, the date when the dish can be served."

"I think we need a bit more of this bilateral cooking between the EU, U.S., Brazil (and) India," he said, referring to major trade powers whose willingness to make trade concessions is considered critical to a world agreement to further liberalize trade.

"They want to conclude the deal but we all know that you don't conclude a deal with goodwill. You conclude a deal with precise numbers," Lamy said.

One factor helping concentrate the minds of negotiators is the fact that U.S. President George W. Bush's authority for so-called "fast-track" trade negotiations that make it easier for the United States to reach agreements only runs through June, unless Congress decides to renew it.

That is not a certainty with the U.S. Congress now controlled by the opposition Democrats.

"...there is a sort of basic agreement within the WTO that having this breakthrough before the U.S. president's authority to negotiate expires is very important," Lamy said.

In a speech to the conference where he emphasized the need for all sides to make the concessions necessary for an agreement, Lamy said:

"Success is now a question of months away, not quarters or semesters, in particular given the upcoming expiry of the U.S. Trade Promotion Authority."

Lamy told Reuters concessions must not only come from developed countries.

The G-33 group of developing countries, for example, wants 20 percent of tariff lines sheltered from duty cuts, which some other nations say would give them far too much freedom to continue protectionist policies.

"Of course, they will have to move from this fairly extreme position which has been their starting position, like the U.S. will have to move on their subsidies or like the EU will have to move on its tariffs."

(With additional reporting by Fitri Wulandari)