Geneva: Brazil, China, India and other developing nations will urge rich countries to make greater efforts to reach a new global trade deal, according to a draft statement underscoring how little progress has been made in recent negotiations.

The United States, Europe and others need to clarify what concessions they are willing to make in World Trade Organization talks so that poorer economies "can do their part, in proportion to their capabilities," said a draft statement by over 70 nations, obtained yesterday by The Associated Press.

The statement precedes a meeting today of developing countries at the WTO s Geneva headquarters, which comes amid a frustrating series of negotiating sessions that have produced little to no progress on a deal that would slash farm subsidies and tariffs in the rich world, while opening up markets in developing countries for manufacturers.

Brazil s foreign minister and India s commerce chief will be among the senior government officials present.

"Most of the world s farmers live in developing countries," the statement said. "They continue to be burdened by gigantic trade-distorting subsidies and prohibitive market access barriers in developed countries. Addressing these distortions effectively is the most important unfinished task in the WTO."

The two-page statement repeats long-standing arguments and demands of developing countries in the WTO's six-year free trade round. It offers no indication that merging economies will agree to open up their industrial markets - a key request of the US and 27-nation European Union.

Source : PTI