New US president won't shun WTO deal: Zoellick

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BRUSSELS, Mar 17 (Reuters): Whoever wins the US presidency would probably back a global trade pact if a deal can be reached this year, despite Democratic candidates' scepticism over free trade, the head of the World Bank said.
World Bank President Robert Zoellick said in an interview that once in the White House, the winner of November's election would find it hard to block an agreement, should tortuous negotiations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) succeed by then.
Hillary Clinton has said she might not finish the 6-year-old Doha world trade talks, and she and her rival for the Democratic party nomination, Barack Obama, have both criticised a 1994 free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico for costing US jobs.
Zoellick, who helped launch the WTO's Doha round in 2001 as the top US trade official, recalled how in 1992 former president George Bush concluded talks for the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada and passed it to his successor, Bill Clinton, for signing.
Negotiators say a breakthrough in April could be just in time to allow US President George W Bush to sign a final deal before he leaves office in January next year, but any delays could mean it would be up to the next US president.