* WTO members quietly set aside 2010 Doha deadline
* Doha negotiations to continue
* WTO predicts 9.5 pct rebound in trade this year
(Adds details of Doha talks, quotes, link to WTO report)
By Jonathan Lynn
GENEVA, March 26 (Reuters) - WTO members tacitly dropped a deadline for a new trade deal on Friday, a move welcomed by some as injecting reality into the long-running Doha talks, but seen by others as risking a de facto suspension of the negotiations.
The decision to pursue the talks into an uncertain future came as the World Trade Organization forecast that global trade volumes would expand by nearly one tenth this year, rebounding from the crisis and shrugging off halting progress on Doha.
It capped a week of meetings joined by senior officials from national capitals to take stock of the Doha talks, launched in late 2001 to free up world commerce and help poor countries prosper through trade.
When ministers announced at a conference in December there would be a stocktaking in late March, the unspoken hope was that it would be the occasion to clinch an outline deal.
The G20 had called on trade ministers to reach a Doha agreement by 2010.
But the political will to close stubborn gaps between rich and poor countries and importers and exporters has been lacking.
"Although we have made some progress since 2008, there is no denying the fact that we are not where we wanted to be by now," WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy told a meeting of the WTO's Trade Negotiations Committee.
Lamy said there were no barriers technically to a deal but declined to comment on whether one was possible in 2010, saying that was a political date set by the G20 leaders and progress on that front was up to them.
Taking stock involves looking back -- at what is on the shelves -- rather than planning the future, said the chief trade negotiator of a middle-sized developed country.
"There's a lot on the shelf, but there ain't enough to open the store," he said.
NO TIMEOUT
The lack of significant progress since an abortive meeting of ministers in mid-2008 has led to calls for Doha to be relaunched to reflect the changing economic environment, while some wondered whether dropping deadlines meant ending the talks.
"Everybody is terrified that this is a proxy for announcing the end of the exercise. It isn't," said the trade negotiator.
While some delegates have discussed suspension among themselves, no one is willing to propose it formally.
"No delegation has suggested we take any time out for the negotiations," Lamy said.
Members agreed to pursue the negotiations in several formats -- in negotiating groups tackling different issues, contacts between two countries or in small groups, and meetings of the full 153-strong membership.
Since mid-2009, the United States, which says a deal requires big emerging economies like China, India and Brazil to open their markets more to foreign businesses, has been focusing its efforts on bilateral contacts with those countries.
That left the broader negotiations focusing on technical and detailed matters, with many members growing frustrated that the substantive issues were being neglected.
Delegates said the new approach means all members will be fully involved closing the gaps on key issues such as the extent to which different countries cut industrial tariffs, or rich nations open their markets for farm produce, giving all a better picture of the overall deal that could emerge.
But that deal is unlikely to emerge this year.
"This is going to take a long time -- maybe two years," said the WTO ambassador of a middle-sized emerging economy, adding that given the global crisis, and the rapid changes to the world economy, it was not surprising a deal was taking so long.
Others argue that tackling the crisis requires a new trade deal that will allow developing countries to export more and reinforce a sustainable recovery.
"What's at stake here with Doha is jobs," said a senior trade diplomat from an emerging economy.
Lamy argues the global economy will remain vulnerable to destructive protectionism as long as unemployment remains high.
The WTO's forecast of a rebound in trade did not mean a Doha deal was irrelevant, as the rules of the current trading system date from 1995 and need bringing up to date.
"The fact that the system works does not change the fact that we have to improve it so that the benefits it has delivered ... are increased with the revision of the rules," he said.
The WTO said merchandise trade volumes would expand by 9.5 percent this year, after contracting by 12.2 in 2009, the biggest drop since World War Two and reflecting a drop in value terms of 23 percent to $12.15 trillion from $16.1 trillion. (For WTO forecast go to http://link.reuters.com/myr45j ) (Editing by Stephanie Nebehay)