Brussels, 05/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - Following a meeting in London on Saturday and Sunday which, as expected, did not lead to any breakthroughs, the top G4 negotiators, namely EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and India's Trade Minister Kamal Nath, headed for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) headquarters in Geneva. Sources suggest that no four-way meetings are scheduled in Geneva on Monday or Tuesday but the four will be meeting up for bilateral talks, and are all expected to have separate meetings with WTO Director Pascal Lamy. On Saturday, French President Jacques Chirac attacked Peter Mandelson's negotiating style at the WTO. Chirac said he was deeply shocked by some of Mandelson's attitudes, accusing him of constantly wanting to give more while the US shows no willingness to make the slightest concessions in farm talks or emerging economies in talks on industry and services for that matter. Chirac said the EU had to be as firm as a rock and avoid giving in to Mandelson's temptations.
Peter Power, Mandelson's spokesman, reacted by saying that the Trade Commissioner knew the limits of his room for manoeuvre - he has a mandate from the Council and was acting within the limits of the mandate. France is refusing to consider any option whereby the Commissioner would move beyond the proposals formulated back in October 2005, including a 39% average cut in farm tariffs. For a year now, Mandelson has regularly mentioned a 51% cut, to bring the EU commitment more in line with the G20 (the emerging economies have offered to make a 54% cut). Some sources suggest Peter Mandelson is considering further concessions. (eh)