Brussels, 16/02/2010 (Agence Europe) - Negotiations on the agricultural chapter of the Doha Round are gathering pace in Geneva at the WTO headquarters, where New Zealand Ambassador David Walker, appointed to chair the committee on agricultural negotiations, conducted two weeks of consultation with member state representatives. Walker felt the consultations provided some “useful opportunities” for discussion to move towards settlement of the trickiest issues still outstanding. From 1 to 12 February, discussion mainly turned to: - the special safeguard mechanism (SSM), a tool allowing developing countries to raise tariffs temporarily to deal with import surges or price falls; - tariff simplification, to end the use of complex tariffs so that most or all end up as straight percentages of the price; - an increase in tariff quota creation for sensitive products; - as well as tropical products and products enjoying preferences. At the same time, the member countries continue their technical work aimed at developing “templates” and data to be used for commitments arising from Doha talks and for any explanations required. (E.H./transl.jl)