Doha Round - II: Steadfast towards Hong Kong

Prospects for the WTO ministerial conference in Hong Kong are unpredictable, even bleak. The developing countries have refused to succumb so far. In agriculture, the reduced levels of total trade-distorting subsidies proposed by the US and EU still remain quite high. Though developing countries made a big concession by yielding on line by line tariff cuts in the area of non-agricultural market access, developed countries are pushing for more concessions. In services, many developing countries do not want to give offers as their supply capacity is limited and the major difference is on the proposed �complementary� method of negotiations.