According to international media reports (nothing in the local media on this of course, even though New Zealand has more to gain from a successful conclusion of negotiations than most) India and Brazil have been criticising the latest texts on the table in the WTO negotiations.
"India and Brazil criticised two new sets of proposals in the Doha round of trade talks at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Tuesday, signalling that wide gaps in the negotiations remain despite recent progress.
The two developing countries, who play a major role in the talks, said that a U.S.-EU proposal to free up trade in environmental goods was little more than a disguised attempt to boost sales of goods of rich nations.
They also said a negotiating text on "rules" -- anti-dumping, subsidies and fisheries subsidies -- was a step backwards that excessively accommodated U.S. concerns.
India also expressed alarm that the key agriculture talks were tilting too much towards the needs of rich countries and were ignoring the requirements of the sub-continent's millions of subsistence farmers."
This is concerning, particularly, as we reported yesterday, the need to get this negotiation finished before a change in US Administration has become even more urgent.
