Brown sets right example in his push for a revival of stalled Doha negotiations

From Mr Marcus Wallenberg.

Sir, It is heartening to see a Group of Eight finance minister publicly expressing his conviction that the Doha round trade negotiations – suspended since July – can and must be put back on course towards a successful conclusion next year as a major priority in order to contain growing protectionist pressures ("Brown in new push for world trade deal", October 26).

Gordon Brown, UK chancellor of the exchequer, calls on "global companies" to back that crucial objective. As the world business organisation, with member companies in 130 countries, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is only too ready to align itself with Mr Brown's initiative.

We also maintain that restarting and completing the Doha round can be achieved even at this late hour, and that doing it is crucial for world economic growth and for job creation.

But I hope Mr Brown knows that world business as a whole - and particularly global companies - have been urging the conclusion of an ambitious agreement in these World Trade Organisation negotiations for several years now. Along with the ICC, the world's leading regional and national business groups have spoken with a strong, clear voice in their support for the Doha round.

Their appeals to governments to get the job done have been frequent, unambiguous and firm - almost to the point of exhaustion. Nearly a year ago, at the ICC's initiative, the chief executives of 64 global companies jointly signed a letter published by the FT to reinforce that message. Business worldwide has interpreted the suspension of the Doha round as a deplorable failure of political will and leadership with potentially grave consequences for the rules-based multilateral trading system and the world economy.

Our political leaders need look nowhere else to find fault. Equally certain, the key to a last-minute completion of the round is squarely in their hands - and time is desperately short.

Mr Brown has set a commendable example. Even as the clock approaches midnight, we hope he may persuade others of his fellow finance ministers from major trading powers to involve themselves more deeply and actively in the fate of the round and not leave trade and agriculture ministers to make all the running.

For if the round does end in failure, it will be predominantly finance ministers who will be called upon to deal with the blow to business and consumer confidence and the resulting problems for the world economy.


Marcus Wallenberg,
Chairman,
International Chamber of Commerce,
75008 Paris, France
Chairman,
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken,
10640 Stockholm, Sweden