On Tuesday July 17, 2007, the World Trade Organization issued the two latest proposals on agricultural products trading and market access for industrial products to all member countries. This was among last efforts to break the ice of the negotiation on free trade in Doha after this negotiation round stayed idle for quite a long time.

In the first proposal, the United States is requested to reduce its agriculture subsidies significantly by 66% to 73% to remain within an acceptable range of $13 to $16,4 billion per year. However, US has only agreed to cut its subsidies to $17 billion for this sensitive products.
 
The second proposal requested EU to cut their import duties on agricultural products imports by 73%. Also, developing countries such as Brazil and India are requested to open their market to industrial products.
 
WTO announced that the two proposals had been finalized based on the latest opinion and contribution from 150 member countries. “It is not yet the final version and open to member countries to review and amend”, said a WTO official.
 
The Doha free trade negotiation has been initiated since 2001 with desired objectives to help millions of people to escape from poverty by relaxing trade barriers of industrial countries.
 
However, the negotiation has remained idle for several years due to conflicts over agricultural products trading and market access for industrial products.