Brussels, 18/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - As WTO Director General Pascal Lamy was pleased to state on Monday 17 November, the G20 leaders' call to conclude the multilateral talks of the Doha Round by the end of the year definitely gives “political impetus” to negotiators who are striving relentlessly at the WTO seat in Geneva to resolve technical issues left outstanding after the stalled ministerial meeting in July. This was what many WTO member countries, not members of the very elitist G20, had been hoping for. “World leaders have now committed themselves in the clearest and most determined manner ever to the successful conclusion of the Doha world trade talks”, European Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton asserts. On the strength of this political commitment, a global agreement which seemed within reach at the end of July again seems possible. But time is running short and, with less than a month and a half before the end of 2008, this may not be enough to resolve differences on many technical issues. So as not to lose time, Mr Lamy convened a meeting on Monday between officials of the 30 largest delegations of the WTO to urge them to accelerate their discussions in order to prepare the revised compromise texts needed for any further meetings of trade ministers. The outcome of the last meeting of the agricultural negotiations committee on Monday chaired by Crawford Falconer nonetheless gives rise to misgiving as to whether the countries at the source of July's failure - the United States and India - are resolved to take forward the agriculture dossier and the Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) for the agriculture of developing countries. On Monday, neither country was able to put the slightest proposal forward, requesting more time to consult their capitals. In addition to the SSM, discussions on agriculture concern the simplification of customs duties, sensitive products and cotton, as well as the creation of import tariff quotas for sensitive products. Also on Monday, cotton producer countries of the C-4 (Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad) and 36 African countries called for the round to be reactivated “bearing well in mind that cotton must be dealt with in an ambitious, rapid and specific manner”. At the heart of discussions with regard to manufactured goods (NAMA) were sectoral agreements aimed at total elimination of tariffs in 14 sectors including the motor industry and textiles on the basis of voluntary participation. (E.H./transl.jl)