Today, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy was given support by the WTO members to continue his small group meetings with seven key WTO powers. He delivered a damning speech to the WTO membership, warning them that the next 24 hours was crucial and that if they showed no further flexibility, they faced the serious consequences of failure.
The G7 meeting started around mid-day and continued for around five hours. According to one delegate, Lamy circulated ideas for numbers on tariff and subsidy cuts in order to bridge the gaps between members. According to WTO sources, there were very encouraging signs of progress and very interesting ideas circulating in the G7 meeting. Pascal Lamy and the seven members are now taking their ideas to the larger group of members in the Green Room, in the hopes of building greater convergence with the others.
The mood in the WTO has lifted considerably in the last few minutes. The number crunching has begun. It is still unclear whether this will lead to an agreement or not.
