Doha Free Trade Talks Suspended 5 Years

Qatari soldiers guard the road to the Doha Sheraton, the main venue for the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Doha, Qatar, Sheraton in this Friday Nov. 9, 2001 file photo. Five years after governments around the world pledged to great fanfare that they would make free trade work for even the poorest countries, it's just another quiet day at the World Trade Organization. The lofty rhetoric of 2001 quietly dropped, negotiators have failed to follow through on their promises of widespread reform of international trade in farm goods, manufactured products and services. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, file) (Kamran Jebreili - AP)

Le Cong Phung, Vietnam's deputy foreign minister, said Monday that the 21 APEC economies would appeal for compromise in urging an end to the deadlock and a resumption of negotiations.

The EU's top trade official, Peter Mandelson, said Monday there is "a short window in the weeks and months ahead to close a deal."

"If we do not, we risk losing the opportunity for some time to come, possibly years," Mandelson said. "The key challenges we face in these negotiations are political, but the machinery needs to be ready if there is a serious resumption of negotiations."

Trade officials have talked of busy behind-the-scenes work of late aimed at restarting the Doha round, a "silent diplomacy" that was the only option while the United States was in the midst of a highly partisan midterm election.

But as that vote has passed, analysts are unsure whether the congressional victories for the Democrats will help or hinder the chances of trade talks being rejuvenated.

Democrats may be more willing to scale back on handouts to American farmers than Republican congressman seen as closer to the country's powerful farm lobby.

But it is unclear if Democrats will renew Bush's authority to strike trade deals, which expires July 1. Without that authority, it would be much harder for any treaty to gain congressional approval in the U.S., the world's largest trading nation.

Bhagwati said the new Congress could help put free trade "back in business," provided Bush has the will to re-engage in the talks.

"The Democrats gain nothing by holding up Doha. They have lots of other things to make the Bush administration shiver in the wind," he said. "If they get something going, a deal, they're going to take it."