ID :
184895
Fri, 05/27/2011 - 14:23
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/184895
The shortlink copeid
WTO KEEPS DOHA ROUND OF TALKS ALIVE AT PARIS MEETING
MELBOURNE, May 27 (Bernama) -– The World Trade Organization (WTO) has kept the Doha round of global trade negotiations alive by charting a new course at an informal ministerial meeting in Paris chaired by Australian Trade Minister Dr Craig Emerson.
Negotiations in Geneva for the Doha Round had stalled, owing to what WTO Director-General, Pascal Lamy, had described as "unbridgeable gaps".
Faced with the option of conceding defeat, the Paris meeting agreed that 20 countries would press ahead in seeking a successful conclusion of the round, Dr Emerson said in a statement.
The encouraging discussions came against the background of a report released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the WTO on movements in trade barriers during the last six months which disturbingly reported an increase in protectionism.
"What a tragedy it would be if the world, having successfully resisted protectionist pressures during the deepest global recession since the Great Depression, were to succumb to them during the recovery," Dr Emerson said.
"The latest report, identifying a rise in protectionism, should worry all countries committed to trade liberalization."
Dr Emerson said ministers acknowledged the negotiations were deadlocked and, while retaining their aspirations for a highly-liberalising Doha result, supported a down-payment of agreements for the WTO Trade Ministers meeting in December.
Dr Emerson said an encouraging result in December would give confidence that further progress was achievable and that the round could be successfully completed.
"Encouragingly, no country at the meeting wanted to abandon the round or push it off to the never-never," he added.
Negotiations in Geneva for the Doha Round had stalled, owing to what WTO Director-General, Pascal Lamy, had described as "unbridgeable gaps".
Faced with the option of conceding defeat, the Paris meeting agreed that 20 countries would press ahead in seeking a successful conclusion of the round, Dr Emerson said in a statement.
The encouraging discussions came against the background of a report released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the WTO on movements in trade barriers during the last six months which disturbingly reported an increase in protectionism.
"What a tragedy it would be if the world, having successfully resisted protectionist pressures during the deepest global recession since the Great Depression, were to succumb to them during the recovery," Dr Emerson said.
"The latest report, identifying a rise in protectionism, should worry all countries committed to trade liberalization."
Dr Emerson said ministers acknowledged the negotiations were deadlocked and, while retaining their aspirations for a highly-liberalising Doha result, supported a down-payment of agreements for the WTO Trade Ministers meeting in December.
Dr Emerson said an encouraging result in December would give confidence that further progress was achievable and that the round could be successfully completed.
"Encouragingly, no country at the meeting wanted to abandon the round or push it off to the never-never," he added.
