Call for quick conclusion of global trade talks

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GENEVA, Nov 21 (Xinhua): World Bank President Robert Zoellick urged World Trade Organisation (WTO) members yesterday to bring a quick conclusion to the Doha round trade talks that aim to promote development through opening trade.
Addressing a WTO high-level meeting on aid for trade, Zoellick said the six year-old Doha round talks were now "at a critical moment."
"I know the competing pulls you face. Having helped with the launch in Doha in 2001, endured the sad breakdown in Cancun in 2003, and assisted in the recovery in Geneva in July 2004, I know the up and downs," Zoellick said.
"But think carefully whether the items in sharp dispute right now are worth a failure. Think about the stakes, not just the frustrating pressures of this moment," he said.
According to the former US trade representative, WTO negotiators have actually made considerable progress on the Doha round, despite the setbacks in the past six years.
"You have the elements of an excellent deal on the table. With political will - and a little courage - you have a package here that would be a lasting improvement for the trading system," he said.
Zoellick said the agriculture reforms - both in market access and subsidies - to be brought about by a successful Doha round would be historic.
"The cuts in barriers in goods will offer benefits throughout the global economy for years to come. Then there are powerful gains in services, prospects for better rules, and notable efficiencies in trade facilitation," he added.
WTO members have intensified their negotiations since September, particularly on the thorny topics of agriculture and industrial trade.
But sharp differences remain on the cutting of farm subsidies and tariffs as well as industrial market access.
Meanwhile, World Trade Organisation (WTO) chief Pascal Lamy yesterday called for effective international aid for poor countries to improve their trade capacity and help them fully benefit from global trade opening.
Development assistance is central to helping developing countries "move from making trade possible to making trade happen, " Lamy told a high-level meeting aimed to review the WTO's Aid for Trade programme.
Lamy said the WTO's core business is to create trade opportunities through multilateral trade opening and the building of multilateral rules to ensure a level playing field.