Officials and diplomats were addressing various issues, including banana imports and protecting product names, in preparation for upcoming ministerial trade negotiations. Trade experts emphasized that the significance of the talks extends beyond tariff and subsidy cuts, highlighting the international community's ability to address major problems like the food crisis. World Trade Organisation Chief Economist Patrick Low expressed concern over governments' inability to reach agreement on trade negotiations and its implications for addressing issues like climate change. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy convened the Geneva meeting to push for progress in the long-running Doha round, which aims to facilitate global trade and support developing countries in reducing poverty. Negotiators are feeling a new sense of urgency and even some optimism as they work towards reaching a deal in core areas of agriculture and industrial goods. Ministers from around 30 countries are aiming to finalize the outlines of an agreement next week to avoid potential disruptions from the upcoming U.S. elections and change in administration. Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath emphasized the importance of addressing the challenges of finance, food, and fuel in any deal, stating that these factors are shaping the negotiations. World leaders, including U.S. President George W. Bush and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, have expressed support for reaching a deal. A deal will involve wealthy countries such as the United States, Japan, and EU nations opening up their food markets through reductions in farm tariffs and subsidies. In exchange, major emerging nations like India and Brazil will lower tariffs to allow for greater access to markets for industrial goods and services. Once ministers agree on the framework, negotiators will work on applying the details to numerous tariff lines and addressing other issues such as fisheries subsidies and regulations for unfairly priced imports. The challenge now is whether ministers can bridge the gap between developed and developing nations. France, the EU's largest food producer and current presidency holder, stated that the EU has made all the concessions it can in agriculture. French Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Idrac stated at a press conference in Brussels that there is a common goal to achieve a rebalancing of the concessions already made by the EU. EU trade chief Peter Mandelson expressed confidence that EU governments have supported his efforts to obtain more concessions from other countries in the WTO negotiations. In the WTO's consensus-based system, each of the 152 members (soon to be 153 with the addition of Cape Verde) has the power to veto decisions. Developing countries argue that, based on the Doha round's development objectives, they should be required to open their markets to a lesser extent than wealthier countries. However, they are being pressured to expose vulnerable farmers and industries to competition while richer nations continue to protect their own agricultural sectors. Wealthy nations insist that they need to show significant improvements in market access in countries like India and China in order to convince their own citizens to accept a deal that involves major sacrifices in farm protection. They believe that some of the greatest benefits would come from trade between developing countries, known as South-South trade. While the common belief is that free trade leads to increased prosperity, some non-governmental organizations argue that the current proposals in the Doha negotiations will actually increase poverty for farmers and workers in poor countries and further entrench dependence on wealthier nations. Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the Oakland Institute, criticized the proposal as going against the ideas put forth by communities and social movements, and as hindering the ability of developing countries to address the crisis. On the other hand, Pascal Lamy, a former EU trade chief, believes strongly in the potential of a Doha deal to reduce trade distortions and benefit poor countries. According to Lamy, this could ultimately increase food supplies in the long term and boost confidence in the short term. He sees this deal as a rare opportunity to bring some positive news to the system.