WTO postponement a 'significant blow' to possible COVID vaccine, fishing deals

FILE PHOTO: A sign of the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) is pictured at the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, November 25, 2021. Picture taken November 25, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The postponement of the World Trade Organization's ministerial conference this week all but guarantees months of deadlock on fishing subsidies and a bid to spread COVID-19 vaccines more widely.

Expectations of breakthroughs were already muted ahead of the gathering, which was postponed late on Friday after new Swiss travel restrictions due to the Omicron variant meant many planned face-to-face meetings could not happen.