The agreement still falls far short of the World Trade Organization's lofty but elusive vision of tearing down global trade barriers through its frustrating, 12-year-old Doha Round of talks.

But the accord reached on the Indonesian resort island of Bali nevertheless marks the first global agreement struck by the Geneva-based body since its 1995 founding.

"For the first time in our history, the WTO has truly delivered," an exhausted but relieved WTO director-general Roberto Azevedo told a closing ceremony.

"We have put the 'World' back into the World Trade Organization," he told delegates.

However, others took a less optimistic view of the agreement.

Oxfam said the deal was vaguely worded and would do little for the worlds poor despite the WTO's claim that it will boost trade for the benefit of all, especially developing countries.

"It is all 'best endeavour' language, which is the trade negotiators equivalent of crossing fingers behind your back," Oxfam said in a statement.

The pact includes commitments to facilitate trade by simplifying customs procedures. The meeting also formally accepted Yemen as the group's 160th member, pending ratification by the Gulf nation's parliament.

The Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics estimated in a report this year that the customs measures could create $1 trillion in economic activity and 21 million jobs if properly implemented.

The report did not detail how those figures were calculated.

WTO officials have conceded however that uncertainty surrounded how effectively the measures would be implemented, especially in underdeveloped nations.

Analysts said the hard-fought nature of the talks indicated how difficult it could be for the body to make real progress on the Doha Round, launched in Qatar in 2001.

FULL STORY: http://news.yahoo.com/ministers-approve-landmark-wto-trade-deal-034...