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| Rich Countries Keen for Trade Liberalization |
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SAT, NOV 10, 2001
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Rich countries led by the European Union and the United States Saturday issued a chorus of calls for further trade liberalization to give a shot to the ailing world economy.
At a plenary session of the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting, U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick said the struggling global economy needs "signs of hope -- the hope of economic opportunity and the hope of political purpose."
Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma and EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy echoed Zoellick's sentiment, citing the worldwide economic uncertainty as an urgent need to liberalize trade.
"We can not afford a second failure. Since the horrifying events of September 11, prospects for the world economy have become increasingly uncertain," he said in reference to the terror attacks on the United States.
Many of the speakers at the session expressed determination for and cautious optimism about a successful Doha conference, with Zoellick saying "an agenda for new global trade negotiations is within our collective grasp."
They also seized the opportunity to outline their own priorities for the ongoing negotiations, showing sharp differences on the scope of agenda for a new round.
According to Zoellick, the principal interests of the United States is to open markets for agriculture, industrial goods and services -- an agenda he said similar to that of most developing countries.
But the EU and Japan declared they are seeking a broader agenda covering investment and competition as well as trade and environment -- which developing countries say they are not interested in.
Meanwhile, almost all speakers emphasized the need to talk about the issues of implementation and intellectual property rights -- two main demands by most developing countries.
Zoellick said the U.S. could agree to "a sizable list of implementation items" while launching the negotiating agenda.
Persistent differences over these issues indicate hard bargaining is unavoidable at the ongoing ministerial meetings due to end next Tuesday.
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