Officials of the world's four top trading powers - the EU, the US, Japan and Canada - yesterday voiced confidence that accord was nearing on launching a global liberalisation round this year. A core group of developing countries said they saw little evidence of readiness by richer states to meet their terms for agreeing to a round, but envoys from other emerging economies said there had been movement.

Mr Mike Moore, director general of the World Trade Organisation under whose wing the negotiations would take place, shared that assessment.