The embattled global trade talks in Hong Kong stagger on as developing countries continue to press for development issues to be front-loaded in the agenda, writes Glenys Kinnock.
The reality is that four years since the Doha Round was launched, rich countries have procrastinated and argued over concessions on agriculture. Similarly, they have also been stinted by the lack of real progress on non-agricultural market access.
Peter Mandelson is on a tight leash and constrained by the French, in particular, on agriculture.
Oxfam has done some impressive number-crunching on this issue. It has shown that the $5m (£2.82m) US negotiators are offering West African cotton countries is the equivalent of just 10 hours of cotton subsidies given to 25,000 US cotton farmers who receive $4bn (£2.26bn) a year.
In Europe, for every euro given to developing countries 160 euros go to agriculture.
Things will be hotting up today. In order for progress to be made, lots of countries will need to be squeezed, and that is looking increasingly unlikely.
I have spent a lot of time with NGOs who, like me, are reeling from the relentless briefing and counter-briefing going on.
Those who would otherwise be reasonably positive and conciliatory (like Oxfam) are finding it hard to stand back when they see the lack of real commitment on development and to building sustainable development, governance and social cohesion through fair and equitable trade.
The WTO director general, Pascal Lamy, I think, deplores the brinkmanship they are now dealing with through the many late night meetings.
He said last month that these talks were definitely not "mission impossible". I wonder what he would honestly say now.
Glenys Kinnock is blogging from the WTO summit all week. Read her posts from yesterday and Monday.
