WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION (WTO) CHIEF PASCAL LAMY, IN HIS DIREST WARNING YET, SAID ON FRIDAY GLOBAL TRADE TALKS WERE HEADING FOR A CRISIS BUT HIS WORDS FAILED TO STIR NEGOTIATORS INTO NEEDED CONCESSIONS, REUTERS REPORTED. ADDRESSING THE WTO'S 149 MEMBER STATES, INCLUDING SEVERAL DOZEN TRADE MINISTERS, LAMY SAID THE TRADE ROUND'S FAILURE WOULD DAMAGE THE WTO AND THE MULTILATERAL TRADING SYSTEM. "WE ARE PUTTING AT RISK THE FUTURE OF THE DOHA ROUND ... IF WE DO NOT TURN THINGS AROUND RADICALLY IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS OR DAYS, WE WILL FRANKLY BE FACING A CRISIS," HE SAID. "WE ARE WELL INTO THE RED PART OF THE RED ZONE." SOME 60 MINISTERS, A THIRD OF THE WTO, ARE IN GENEVA IN A BID TO THRASH OUT A PACT BY SUNDAY ON FARM AND MANUFACTURING TRADE, CORE AREAS OF THE WTO'S DOHA ROUND. WITHOUT A DEAL IN THESE KEY AREAS THIS WEEKEND, LAMY SAYS THE WTO WILL RUN OUT OF TIME TO CONCLUDE THE ROUND, WHICH ALSO INCLUDES COMPLEX ISSUES SUCH AS SERVICES, BY THE END OF THE YEAR, WHICH IS THE ABSOLUTE CUT-OFF. THE TALKS PIT THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE UNITED STATES AGAINST EACH OTHER AND AGAINST LEADING DEVELOPING STATES. BRAZILIAN FOREIGN MINISTER CELSO AMORIM SAID HE SAW NO SIGN OF MOVEMENT AFTER TALKS IN THE SO-CALLED G6, THE UNITED STATES, THE EU, BRAZIL, INDIA, AUSTRALIA AND JAPAN. "I DON'T SENSE, UNTIL NOW, ANY SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS," HE TOLD REPORTERS, ADDING THAT HE DID NOT SEE MUCH CHANCE OF THINGS CHANGING OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. "SOMETIMES YOU NEED A CRISIS FOR AN AGREEMENT (TO COME)," HE SAID. LAUNCHED IN 2001 TO BOOST THE GLOBAL ECONOMY AND TACKLE POVERTY, THE ROUND IS FAR BEHIND SCHEDULE DUE TO DEEP DIVISIONS, PARTICULARLY BETWEEN DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING STATES. BUT WHAT HAD ALREADY BEEN AGREED, SUCH AS AN END TO FARM EXPORT SUBSIDIES BY RICH STATES, WAS ALREADY MORE THAN HAD BEEN ACHIEVED IN ANY PREVIOUS TRADE ROUND, LAMY SAID.
