G7 Seeks Focus on Free Trade and Currency
Finance ministers from the world’s wealthiest nations sought to breathe life into world trade talks on Saturday with an urgent appeal for the revival of negotiations ahead of a meeting in Hong Kong in 10 days’ time.
"We want to do what we can at this opportunity. This is a $300 billilon dollar issue," British finance minister Gordon Brown said after chairing talks among the G7 rich nations that were attended also by Russia, Brazil, China and India.
After the meeting in London, they issued a communique in which they said:
"An ambitious outcome from the Doha Development Round (of trade talks) by the end of 2006 is essential to enhancing global growth and reducing poverty."
Trade ministers from the European Union, the United States and other key traders including Japan and Brazil had hoped to determine a broad framework in Hong Kong on cutting obstacles to global trade in agriculture, services and industrial goods. That framework would then guide negotiators as they completed a trade deal by the end of 2006.
However, a dispute over agricultural subsidies has derailed the likelihood of real progress at the meeting of the 148 WTO members, despite four years of negotiations since the trade round kicked off in Doha.
``It’s clear that there has to be more give on both sides ... and we have to approach this in a spirit of reciprocity,’’ Snow said after meeting with Brown. ``The U.S. has indicated that we are prepared to move on the issues that would make our markets more open. We already think they are quite open, but we are prepared to open further, but others need to do the same.’’
The WTO discussions are running up against a mid-2006 deadline to allow enough time to collate thousands of pages of rules, customs duties and commitments before the Bush administration’s negotiating mandate expires in 2007.
