WTO's Lamy says Doha deal in sight

By Shapi Shacinda

LUSAKA (Reuters) - The Doha round of global trade talks could be concluded within eight months of preliminary agreements on industrial tariffs and agriculture subsidies, the head of the World Trade Organisation told Reuters on Tuesday.

World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General Pascal Lamy said the WTO would give time to the United States to indicate its position and for India to conduct elections in April and May before convening trade ministers for more negotiations.

Lamy put the talks, launched in 2001 with an emphasis on development and opening markets in agriculture, manufacturing and services, on ice last December, citing a lack of political will among major powers to bridge their differences.

The deal is estimated to be worth $150 billion for world economy and could be even more important now the world is facing its worst economic crisis in decades.

Lamy has said the so-called "modalities" of a deal to open world trade -- the precursor to a full agreement -- could be reached before the end of the year.

"As soon as possible, but I will not fix a deadline. I will reconvene ministers when I feel that the will to compromise is there," Lamy told Reuters in an interview when asked about the timeline for concluding the trade negotiations.

"And then if we were to do this and cross the line, what we call modalities, the end of the round could be six or eight months ahead from that," Lamy said on the sidelines of an infrastructure investment conference in Zambia's capital Lusaka.

Lamy said the credit crunch had hit trade after short-term credit finance dried up and global supply and demand shrank.