World Trade Organisation Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi warned on Thursday that the deepening stagnation in the Doha round of free trade talks threatens the success of the ministerial meeting set for the end of the year in Hong Kong.

Speaking at a meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee, the WTO chief said: "I have said in the past, my finger was hovering over the alarm button. Now I have pressed it."

At a press conference after the meeting, WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell said that the goal set by ministers at the beginning of the year to come up with a draft document for the Hong Kong meeting by the end of July is clearly not to be fulfilled.

At present, he said, the parties involved in the negotiations hope to achieve more progress in the Doha round through intense consultations in the last week of July.

However, Supachai worries that even if some progress is made, there is still too much work to be done in the autumn in order to achieve consensus around major issues in the Hong Kong meeting.

In the meetings next week, negotiators will focus on reducing tariffs on imported agricultural products and canceling subsidies provided by rich countries for their agricultural exports.

If there is some advance on agricultural negotiations, tariffs on industrial products and special treatment towards the most undeveloped countries will also be discussed.

The WTO General Council's meeting set for July 27-29 will be the last attempt to push forward the negotiations before the trade organization's summer recess in August.

Source: Xinhua