World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference: World Trade Organization

World Trade Organization: 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 Organization's relevance as a forum for negotiations. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. An agreement on simplifying customs procedures could help revive the WTO's 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. Indonesian activists wear masks while protesting against the World Trade Organization meeting in Bali, Indonesia on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013. Indonesia is hosting the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference from Dec. 3 - 6. AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati 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. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.