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The paper on draft modalities for non-agriculture market access (NAMA) that will serve as the basis for WTO negotiations in the next ten days contains little in the form of agreed text, and more in terms of comments on the areas of present disagreement among the WTO members.

More than 100 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) opposed to trade liberalisation on Tuesday demanded the WTO's troubled Doha round be 'buried' as ministers prepare to fly to Geneva in a bid to revitalise it.

The stage is set for a week or more of intense negotiations at the WTO as Ministers of some 40 to 50 countries are expected to arrive in Geneva in an effort to boost the flagging Doha negotiations.

The Dance of the Seven Veils appears pedestrian when compared with the strip-tease currently being performed by the world's trade negotiators in Geneva. They are slowly and finally revealing their concessions to open global trade - just in time.

New proposals on global trade rules on agriculture and industrial goods (Non Agricultural Market Access or NAMA) released today show a deadlock in negotiations that could spell failure for the Doha round of trade talks.

The Draft Modalities on Agriculture and NAMA are now available on the WTO website.

The draft texts released today by the WTO on trade rules for agriculture and industrial products reflect the broad divergences that remain between WTO Members over the Doha Round, according to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. The possibility for concluding the Doha Round this year is becoming increasingly remote.

On the eve of the issuance of a draft modalities paper on agriculture by the Chair of the WTO's agriculture negotiations, the ACP Group has submitted a paper updating its position on various issues in agriculture modalities.

In the lead-up to next week

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