WTO has 'truly delivered'

The World Trade Organisation reached its first-ever trade reform deal at the weekend to a roar of approval from nearly 160 ministers who had gathered on the Indonesian island of Bali to decide on the make-or-break agreement that could add $1-trillion to the global economy.

The approval came after Cuba dropped a last-gasp threat to veto the package of measures. South Africa is one of the signatories.

"For the first time in our history, the WTO has truly delivered," WTO chief Roberto Azevedo told exhausted ministers after the talks had dragged into an extra day on the tropical resort island.

"This time the entire membership came together. We have put the 'world' back in World Trade Organisation," he said. "We're back in business. Bali is just the beginning."

The talks, which had opened on Tuesday, nearly came unstuck at the last minute when Cuba refused to accept a deal that would not help pry open the US embargo of the Caribbean island, forcing negotiations to drag into Saturday morning.

Cuba later agreed on a compromise with the US, but there was scepticism about how much had really been achieved.

"Beyond papering over a serious dispute on food security, precious little progress was made at Bali," said Simon Evenett, professor of international trade at the University of St Gallen in Switzerland. "Dealing with the fracas on food security sucked the oxygen out of the rest of the talks."

The talks had begun under a cloud because of an insistence by India at the outset that it would only back an agreement if there was a compromise on food subsidies because of its massive programme for stockpiling food to feed its poor.

India won plaudits at home for taking a stand on behalf of the world's poor.

An eventual compromise was greeted with jubilation by India's Trade Minister Anand Sharma. While India had insisted on a permanent exemption from the WTO rules, the final text suggested a permanent solution within four years.

The agreement is a milestone for the 159 WTO members, marking its first global trade agreement since it was created in 1995.

The deal will lower trade barriers and speed the passage of goods through customs. Analysts estimate that, over time, it could boost the world economy and create more than 20 million jobs, mostly in developing countries.

It must still be approved by each member government.