Pascal Rami, director general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), said that the "cotton file" has become a touchstone for the struggling Doha round of trade negotiations.

In an e-mail sent to the trade envoy before the cotton negotiation mechanism conference in June 7th, Lamy encouraged the envoys to make every effort to make the Doha round a success.

The "cotton file" refers to the distorting trade cotton subsidies provided by the rich countries, especially in the United States. These cotton subsidies have contributed to the cotton trade in West Africa's cotton producing countries, such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad, the so-called cotton four countries or C-4.

The cotton archive also includes development assistance for poor cotton farmers in these countries.

The closed door meeting held in June 7th clearly conveyed information to some countries that the subsidy for cotton development is intensifying, but African countries still insist on finding solutions to problems that plagued the cotton trade.

Although the cotton issue raised by the African countries at the WTO Cancun Ministerial Conference in 2003 has been placed on the top of the Doha agenda, it has disappeared almost from the radar screen of Doha negotiations. Only some progress on cotton development assistance has been made.

In July 2004, the WTO framework agreement and the declaration of the Ministerial Conference of WTO members of Hongkong in 2005 ordered the member states to "boldly, actively, quickly and concretely solve the cotton trade problem in all the three pillar areas of agricultural negotiations, namely, market access, domestic support and export competition".

The order requires developed countries to eliminate all forms of export subsidies in 2006, provide tax exemption and quota free access to cotton exports for the least developed countries (LDCs), and agree to substantially reduce their trade distorting domestic subsidies.

"Until today, we are still far from achieving the goal set.

The current progress of negotiations has made people pessimistic about the upcoming Doha round, "Leonce Kone, Minister of trade at Burkina Faso, told other WTO members at a meeting in June 7th.

Privately speaking, a negotiator familiar with Doha's agricultural negotiations said that the cotton problem has been put to a secondary position compared with other issues.

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African countries realize that as long as the United States sticks to its stubborn position, the cotton problem will not find a solution. The stubborn position of the United States is supported by a strong domestic cotton lobby.

However, Dr. Supachai, director general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and development (UNCTAD), supported the four cotton countries in Africa. He said: "for the least developed African countries, cotton is the most important issue.

It is reasonable for African countries to agree on the early conclusion of the Doha Round negotiations on the cotton issue, because the cotton issue is a livelihood issue.