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Transcript of Mr Sebban's interview on CNBC Europe's Morning Exchange programme:

Ross Westgate: Joining us once more is Guy Sebban, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce.

Guy, thanks very much indeed for joining us. Are you pessimistic or optimistic that we can move forward on this issue?

Guy Sebban: I am optimistic. These talks about the Doha round and the Hong Kong Ministerial were moving at a very, very slow pace. At the beginning of last week, a proposal from the US on agriculture injected new momentum in the negotiations. So I think it’s very important to keep these negotiations moving. The stakes are enormous: global economic growth through job and wealth creation.

We should never forget that the success of the Doha round is a must. This success is based on an assumption, the assumption that every country should get something in these negotiations. Some concessions should come from developed countries and  also developed countries are expecting something to come from developing countries, especially in non-agricultural market access (NAMA) and in services. So now the developed countries, mainly the US and to a certain extent the EU have put their cards on the table.

Developed countries have moved somewhat on agriculture and I think that as a result further proposals should now come from developing countries in NAMA and services.

RW: How much of a stumbling block is agriculture, particularly when you know one group of countries, led by the US, is saying the EU needs to go further and within the EU, of course, the Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, is being told he has gone too far?

GS: That’s normal in any negotiations. Some parties think you have moved too quickly and too far and some others think you are too slow and not giving enough so that proves that we’re probably not very far from reaching the right balance, and to reach this balance we must always keep in mind that the Doha round must be a success. It’s very, very important for the world economy. The benefits are a little bit diffused and it’s very difficult to convince people on diffused benefits when the pain is concentrated, and that, I think, is the key issue. We have to work with public opinion in different countries to demonstrate day after day that this round must be a success because globally speaking they will get a lot of benefits, in terms of job creation and in terms of economic growth.

Guy Johnson: Good morning Guy. Guy Johnson here. You keep saying that this must be a success story, you have to produce some results, but digging into Ross’s question in a little more detail, party politics in France are such that at the moment nobody is going to want to give anything away. This is about domestic politics, it’s about French farmers and they’re unlikely to want to really lower these tariff barriers to protect their farmers in this particular point in the political cycle. Are you seriously optimistic that the French will cave on this story, that France will allow significant changes in the current tariff structure?

GS: The way these negotiations work in the EU does not give negotiating power to any one country. France is represented in this negotiation by the EU.

The situation is complex because you have to take into account at the same time the national situation: the fact that France is included in the EU, the fact that the EU is negotiating on behalf of 25 countries and there is also the issue of the Common Agricultural Policy which is under reform. So there is a way but probably a very narrow one and I am, I repeat, optimistic because I hope that even if the way is very narrow, we’ll be able to find it.

GJ: Guy Sebban thanks very much indeed for joining us. Guy Sebban, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce.