US rejects WTO reform proposal before Cameroon meeting

GENEVA, March 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. ambassador to the World Trade Organization said he could not accept a draft plan for reforming the trade body ahead of a major meeting in Cameroon.

Countries, led by Norway, have been working intensely for months on a position paper on reforms ahead of a meeting of trade ministers in Cameroon on March 26-29, mostly devoted to this issue.

The debate comes amid concerns that future global trade could be decided outside the 30-year-old watchdog unless it reforms itself quickly.

"We cannot accept a workplan that in our view undermines our collective efforts to move forward," Joseph Barloon said in a statement on Friday, adding the discussions were not sufficiently mature and that the draft position paper contained ambiguous language.

The U.S. objection, made in a meeting in Geneva this week, precludes the possibility of an agreement on reforms there since all 166 WTO members must decide by consensus.

Barloon stressed that Washington had an ambitious reform agenda and added that he was looking forward to hearing other countries' positions.