WTO chief urges G-20 leaders to break Doha impasse

By Lee Minji
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- The head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on
Monday called for Group of 20 leaders to make a big push to break the impasse in
the WTO trade negotiations known as the Doha Round, expecting the long-stalled
global trade talks may be concluded next year.
The Doha Round of trade talks started in the Qatari capital in 2001 to free up
world trade by opening up markets and cutting tariffs and subsidies in rich
countries.
But the 153-nation talks collapsed in 2008 as countries failed to meet on issues
such as agricultural subsidies and industrial tariffs.
"We all know that this will not happen before the end of this year," WTO
Director-General Pascal Lamy said in a press conference.
Lamy said more efforts are needed to conclude the pending talks on the Doha
Round, adding that the upcoming G-20 summit in Seoul may push the trade talks
forward.
"Maybe next year, depending on the progress made in the Seoul Summit," he said.
Earlier in the day, Lamy met South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Trade
Minister Kim Jong-hoon to discuss the agenda for the summit. South Korea is
hosting the G-20 summit in Seoul in November.
Earlier, leaders of the G-20 group had set a goal to wrap up the global trade
negotiations in 2010, but many do not expect the trade talks to be concluded this
year.
In order to speed up the stalled talks, "the right combination" of technical work
and a final political resolve reached via a "serious" discussion among leaders is
necessary, the WTO chief said.
"A substantial engagement among leaders is the right thing in order to pave the
way for the conclusion of the round," Lamy said. "We need compromising on all
sides ... a bit more to conclude the round, not much more."
Lamy also said the international trade body has stepped up its efforts in working
with the Korean government to speed up the Doha trade talks. Lee seeks to use the
summit to add momentum to the conclusion of the rounds on a political level, he
said.
Lamy, meanwhile, said global trade volume will increase at least 10 percent this
year, although there are still lingering downside risks on the world economy.
"For the moment, we do not have any reason to change our focus for the volume of
world trade, which is 10 percent plus," he said.
In 2009, world trade volume dropped 12 percent in the wake of the global
financial meltdown that started in late 2008.
mil@yna.co.kr
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