Indonesia Resort Island: Asian Development Bank Institute

Asian Development Bank Institute: After more than a decade of inertia in WTO talks, negotiators are close to a slimmed-down deal but there is no finished document for the dozens of trade ministers attending a summit on the Indonesia resort island of Bali to sign. So close to an agreement, some have been urging the trade ministers to take the unusual step of completing the negotiations themselves, according to 660 News. Even though still possible, the chances of reaching a deal are rather slim, said Matthias Helble, a global trade expert at the Asian Development Bank Institute and former WTO adviser and BALI, Indonesia Top trade officials began talks Tuesday that will either produce an eleventh hour deal that could boost the global economy by $1 trillion or possibly spell the end of the World Trade Organizations relevance as a forum for negotiations. An agreement on simplifying customs procedures could help revive the WTOs broader Doha Round of trade negotiations, sometimes known as the development round because of sweeping changes in regulations, taxes and subsidies that would benefit low income countries. Still, WTO ministerial summits are designed for enshrining done deals, not technical negotiations, so producing an agreement at a four-day conference would be unprecedented. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.