World Trade Organisation chief Pascal Lamy, known for his love of long-distance running, will need sprinter-like speed if he is to get a breakthrough in snarled global free trade talks in the month or so that has been given.
After nearly five years of struggle, the WTO has turned to the 58-year-old Frenchman as its last hope for a deal on farm and industrial goods, the core issues in its Doha free trade round.
After cutting short a planned three days of negotiations by a day because of the continuing deadlock, the 149-state WTO asked Mr Lamy to act as a "catalyst" for the pact, shuttling between capitals and working the phones in an attempt to bridge the still yawning gaps between countries.
"It is a crisis but not yet panic," Mr Lamy told journalists after accepting the challenge.
He promised to "crack heads" if necessary in the search for an accord which all agree must come in the next few weeks if the WTO is to wrap up the Doha round, which includes a host of other complex issues such as services, by the end of the year.
No deal in 2006 could see the final collapse of the round, which was launched with the aim of accelerating global growth to help lift millions out of poverty.
"With time not on our side, the only thing that can help us . . . is the readiness of members, starting with the big players, to exchange, to make concessions, to negotiate, and this is what I will be trying to do," he said.
The one - possibly only - positive element, he said, was that all were committed to the end-2006 target date, which cannot be missed because in the middle of next year US presidential powers to negotiate trade deals expire and are unlikely to be renewed.
But the difficulties are immense.
Trading powers have been unable to agree on how far rich nations should slash farm subsidies and tariffs and developing countries open their manufacturing markets - the three sides of the triangle the metaphor-loving Lamy says must be closed.
Washington has so far resisted pressure to give more ground on farm subsidies, which developing countries say prevent them competing on world markets.
- (Reuters)
