World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiators released new draft deals on Friday showing that all-night talks in Abu Dhabi had failed to produce a breakthrough on key issues, leading to a third extension for the sides to reach an agreement.
It was unclear whether the deadlock could be broken before a new 5 p.m. local time (1300 GMT) deadline, with several delegates cautioning that some nations were far apart on many key issues.
On the fifth day of the ministerial meeting, many ministers had already gone home, although European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and India's Piyush Goyal remained.
More than 15 hours after the original deadline had passed, delegates were seen on Friday scuttling with coffee cups into meetings rooms where media access is restricted, while others were heads down poring over documents or typing urgently on mobile phones. One mimed pulling the pin out of a hand grenade.
The biennial high-level meeting of trade ministers from around the world is seeking to revise global commerce rules on a broad range of issues from fishing and farming to e-commerce.
"Not great," said one WTO ambassador, summarizing the current state of negotiations. A document circulated by the WTO said that "time is running out". "It is everyone's hope that this postponement allows reaching agreement," it said.
WTO spokesperson Ismaila Dieng said the discussions were "intensive and difficult".
India, along with South Africa, has opposed extending a moratorium on digital trade tariffs - a move that has overwhelming support of most governments and from business.
WTO talks have failed before and this year's negotiations, held in the oil-rich Gulf state the United Arab Emirates, has highlighted fissures between some of the world's top economies.
U.S. President Joe Biden's trade chief Katherine Tai said in an interview with Reuters late on Thursday that if talks failed, fragmentation among the BRICS group would have contributed.
India and China, core members of the BRICS group of nations, have disagreed on key issues including on investment. India's commerce minister joined the negotiations two days after they started and after his Chinese counterpart had left Abu Dhabi.
Pacific islands nations have also complained at the talks about feeling marginalized and overlooked by most major powers.
U.S. support for global trade and multilateral groups like the WTO has been renewed under Biden. But negotiators are mindful that former President Donald Trump, who disrupted the multilateral system, could win a second term in the U.S. presidential election in November.
So far, no deals have been agreed after nearly five days of talks in Abu Dhabi and even the formal acceptance of completed negotiations on improving investment was blocked at an organisation where all 164 members must agree by consensus.
However, many of the disputes are seen as political theatre and so one breakthrough could lead nations dropping opposition to other deals, as happened at the Geneva conference in 2022.
A consensus is also seen as important to the United Arab Emirates, who in recent years has appeared to place an increased emphasis on multilateralism and dialogue and a turnaround from the assertive foreign policy it was pursing a decade ago.
It has served as a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, hosted the U.N. COP28 Climate Conference, joined China and India as members of the BRICS grouping of nations, established ties with Israel and repaired fractured relations.
Ahead of the talks UAE foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi ruling family, announced a $10 million grant to support WTO initiatives.
