The International Chamber of Commerce today urged governments to renew their commitment to a successful Doha trade round at a key meeting of the World Trade Organization next week.
Commenting on the forthcoming meeting of the WTO General Council in Geneva on Monday, ICC Secretary General Maria Livanos Cattaui said: "The political will seems to be there. WTO governments know that they have to restore momentum to the Doha round."
While the September WTO ministerial conference in Cancun, Mexico was a setback, it was not the end of the road. "Cancun should be seen as a springboard for resolving the contentious issues that are holding up progress."
Ms Cattaui said: "Business wants final agreement as soon as possible, but that does not mean that governments should be obsessed with deadlines. The final package is what matters, even if it takes somewhat longer than planned."
ICC has called on WTO members to focus on the following priorities to relaunch t
he round:
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reaching agreement on how to deal with negotiations on liberalizing trade in agriculture;
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reaching agreement on how to deal with negotiations on market access for non-agricultural products; and
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finding a way to advance the so-called Singapore issues - competition, investment, trade facilitation and transparency in government procurement - on their own merit and at their own pace.