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INSTANT VIEW: WTO talks collapse amid farm stand-off

Tue Jul 29, 2008 1:17pm EDT
 
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GENEVA (Reuters) - Marathon talks on a new wave of trade liberalization collapsed on Tuesday after nine days of intense but ultimately fruitless negotiations.

Following are some reactions, with latest at top:

MARIO MARCONINI, DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS OF THE SAO PAULO INDUSTRY FEDERATION (FIESP)

"It seems some countries want the round to fail, notably India and Argentina.

"The others abandoned Brazil. China never said anything and decided to oppose everything."

SORAYA ROSAR, DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS WITH BRAZIL'S NATIONAL INDUSTRY CONFEDERATION

"It's really bad news. It's sad to have lost so many years of work. For an emerging market, it is worrying to see a WTO that is not strong."

SERGIO MENDES, HEAD OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CEREAL EXPORTERS, BRAZIL

"With the failure of the talks, which we hoped would reduce subsidies, Brazil's rapid growth may be slowed. But there's no way it will end growth.

PEDRO CAMARGO NETO, HEAD OF THE BRAZILIAN ASSOCIATION OF PORK MEAT EXPORTERS:

"It's bad but not the end of the world. It's not a setback that puts everything at risk. It's not chaos."

ADRIAN VAN DEN HOVEN, TRADE DIRECTOR AT EUROPE'S MAIN EMPLOYERS' GROUP, BUSINESSEUROPE

"Obviously, we are disappointed that the talks came this far only to break down.

"We are not sure what is going to happen next in terms of WTO. We don't want to sound alarmist, because we have seen this kind of crush in the past.

"Considering how close the talks were to reaching an agreement, it would be foolish to let everything fall apart."

CARIN SMALLER, INSTITUTE FOR AGRICULTURE AND TRADE POLICY, NGO  Continued...

 

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