(Adds new paragraphs 9-14) By Laura MacInnis GENEVA, July 4 (Reuters) - The head of the World Trade Organisation said on Friday that this month would be a "moment of truth" for the Doha world trade pact and failure to clinch the deal would damage poor countries, erode economic growth and deepen the north-south divide. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy has invited trade ministers to Geneva from July 21 to broker deals in the two most sensitive areas of the so-called Doha round -- cuts to farming tariffs and subsidies, as well as to import duties on manufactured goods. In a memorandum to ministers, the former European Union trade commissioner said agreement in those areas would clear the decks for agreement in the rest of the talks, which also span services markets and trade rules. "The coming weeks represent the moment of truth for the Doha round," he said in the note published in the International Herald Tribune. "To conclude a deal will require courage and some of you may be wavering." Europe's current trade chief Peter Mandelson and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country just took over the rotating EU presidency, have clashed publicly in the past week over the desirability of a Doha deal for Europe's farmers. Glossing over those differences, the WTO chief said rich nations have already accepted cuts to their farm protections in the negotiations that began in Qatar in November 2001. Developed countries have signalled they can cut subsidies to their farmers by around 70 percent and agricultural tariffs by 50 percent, as well as slice their high import duties on manufactured goods from the developing world, Lamy said. Poorer nations have agreed to take steps to open their markets, Lamy said, without specifying any offers or referring to developing countries' controversial demands for permission to exclude big swathes of their industries from tariff cuts. 'NOT AT ANY PRICE' Germany, whose support for the Doha round is critical to EU efforts to keep France on board, said on Friday that all countries must open their markets for a deal to be palatable. "We need a balanced result for all areas of negotiation. That also means that developing nations such as Brazil, India and China need to make concessions," German Economy Minister Michael Glos said after meeting Lamy in Berlin. "A conclusion of the Doha round at any price is out of the question." Germany's main business lobby BDI later spoke out against developing-country calls for permission to keep shielding some industries from tariff cuts in a Doha deal. "As much as we want a successful conclusion to the WTO round, the talks are not an end in themselves and must be judged on their results," BDI President Juergen Thumann said. In his note to ministers, Lamy said an implosion of the WTO talks would send a dangerous signal to a world reeling from financial disruptions, food shortages and soaring energy prices. Failure could have broad consequences, he warned, asking: "Do any of you seriously believe that an agreement on climate change, immigration or reform of international institutions would be likely in the aftermath of a Doha collapse?" Lamy said trade diplomats needed clearer signals from their capitals ahead of the ministers' meeting for preparatory talks that are struggling to make headway on a variety of issues. "These officials operate on instructions from you," he said in the memorandum addressed to trade ministers. "A word in their ears now to show more flexibility at the negotiating table would save you all a lot of headaches when you get to Geneva." The chairmen of the farming and industrial goods committees -- New Zealand's WTO ambassador Crawford Falconer, and Canada's WTO ambassador Don Stephenson -- are expected to circulate revised negotiating texts late next week to help give ministers simpler options to choose from. Consensus is required among WTO members for a Doha deal to be clinched. The trade body's membership will grow by one to 153 on July 23 when Cape Verde enters, leaving Russia and Iran among those still seeking to join. (Additional reporting by Iain Rogers in Berlin)
Supporters attend a rally in support of Maryam Rajavi, head of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, and the People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) in Villepinte near Paris June ...
