Today’s edition of the Financial Times newspaper includes a Letter to the Editor from ICC strongly supporting the goal of seizing a last opportunity to conclude the Doha Round.
The letter has been signed by ICC’s Chairmanship, plus chairmen or CEOs of 82 companies.
A letter from the European Round Table (ERT) of Industrialists on the same subject has been published next to the ICC letter.
ERT and ICC have coordinated this initiative to demonstrate to policymakers that the CEOs of major global companies strongly support the goal of successfully concluding the Doha Round.
Political leaders must grasp final chance for Doha deal
Financial Times
1 March 2007
Sir,
We the undersigned are chairmen/chief executive officers of some of the world’s leading corporations. We have supported the Doha round of multilateral trade negotiations since they were launched and were profoundly concerned when they were suspended last July.
We therefore warmly welcome the agreement among trade ministers in late February to re-start the negotiations following initiatives at the highest political level. A final and very narrow window of opportunity appears to have opened up to forge agreement in the coming weeks on an historic, global package of trade-enhancing measures.
At the initiative of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), we are writing to urge member governments of the World Trade Organization to seize this opportunity as a policy objective of the highest priority.
We believe that a successful conclusion of the Doha round is a vital interest for world business and we encourage fellow business leaders to work closely with their governments to achieve that end as a matter of great urgency. Although national differences over a deal on agriculture have taken centre stage, the Doha round is -- and should be -- about much more than that one sector. Considerable progress has been made in all areas of the negotiations over the past five years and there is much already on the table which would make it easier to do business across frontiers.
If the Doha round fails, the gains already on the table will be lost. The considerable advances already made towards achieving the most trade-enhancing global agreement ever will be wasted. And the multilateral trading system that has played such a critical role in raising world living standards will be seriously damaged -- paving the way for already resurgent protectionist forces and an ever more complicated and costly patchwork of bilateral and regional trade arrangements, which are not alternatives to the multilateral system.
What is at stake in the weeks ahead is of crucial importance for creating business opportunities, strengthening the world economy, and raising global living standards.
Political leaders at the very highest level must continue to engage themselves to ensure that WTO governments collectively, at this very late hour, find the political will to realize the great promise of Doha. They -- and we -- have a final chance. We must all invest the time and effort to get a deal done.
Signatories:
Marcus Wallenberg, Chairman of the Board, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, Sweden; and Chairman, ICC
Victor Fung, Chairman, Li & Fung Group of Companies, Hong Kong, China; and Vice-Chairman, ICC
Jean-René Fourtou, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Vivendi Universal, France; and Honorary Chairman, ICC
Joseph Ackermann, CEO, Deutsche Bank AG, Germany
Paul Adams, Chief Executive, British American Tobacco, UK
Steven A. Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft Corporation, USA
Jim Balsillie, Chairman and co-CEO, Research In Motion Limited, Canada
Laurent Beaudoin, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Bombardier Inc., Canada
Peter Brabeck-Lethmathe, Chairman and CEO, Nestlé SA, Switzerland
Nasir Ali Shah Bukhari, Chairman, KASB Bank Limited, Pakistan
Baron Paul Buysse, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Bekaert, Belgium
Guillermo Cadena Acevedo, CEO, Grupo Ultraquimia, Mexico
Patrick Cescau, Group Chief Executive, Unilever, Netherlands/UK
Masud A. Daher, Chairman, Millezum Consult (Pvt.) Ltd., Pakistan
Dominic D'Alessandro, President and CEO, Manulife Financial Corporation, Canada
Samuel A. DiPiazza, Jr., CEO, PricewaterhouseCoopers, USA
V. L. Dutt, Chairman & Managing Director, The KCP Ltd, India
Jorma Eloranta, President and CEO, Metso Corporation, Finland
Michael L. Eskew, Chairman and CEO, United Parcel Service, USA
Richard B. Evans, President and CEO, Alcan Inc., Canada
Michael Frenzel, CEO, TUI AG, Germany
Manfred Gentz, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Zurich Financial Services, Switzerland
Claudio X. González, CEO, Kimberly-Clark de México, Mexico
Jürgen Hambrecht, Chairman of the Board of Directors, BASF AG, Germany
Jukka Härmälä, CEO, Stora Enso, Finlan
Antti Herlin, Chairman of the Board, KONE Corporation, Finland
Charles O. Holliday Jr., Chairman and CEO, DuPont, USA
Kunio Ishihara, Member of the Board, President, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. Ltd., Japan
Tissa Jayaweera, Chairman, Itmin Internet Services Limited, Sri Lanka
Leif Johansson, President and CEO, Volvo Group, Sweden
Ole Johansson, President and CEO, Wärtsilä Corporation, Finland
Christian Jourquin, CEO, Solvay, Belgium
Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, President and CEO, Nokia Corporation, Finland
R. V. Kanoria, Chairman & Managing Director, Kanoria Chemicals & Industries Ltd, India
Adnan Kassar, Chairman, Fransabank S.A.L, Lebanon
Tsunehisa Katsumata, President, The Tokyo Electric Power Company Incorporated, Japan
Young-Tae Kim, Chairman, Daesung Group of Companies, Korea
Jeffrey B. Kindler, Chairman and CEO, Pfizer Inc., USA
Klaus Kleinfeld, President and CEO, Siemens AG, Germany
Mustafa V. Koç, Chairman, Koç Holding, Turkey
Vratislav Kulhanek, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Skoda Auto a.s., Czech, Republic
Alan G. Lafley, Chairman, President and CEO, The Procter & Gamble Company, USA
Pil-Seung Lee, President, Poong Lim Industrial Co., Ltd., Korea
Yong-Koo Lee, CEO, Daelim Industrial Co., Ltd., Korea
Yoon-Woo Lee, Vice Chairman & CEO, Samsung Electronics, Korea
Woon-Hyung Lee, Chairman, Seah Steel Co., Ltd., Korea
Ulrich Lehner, Chairman Board of Management, Henkel KGaA, Germany
Thomas Leysen, CEO, Umicore, Belgium
The Hon. David K. P. Li, Chairman and Chief Executive, The Bank of East Asia Ltd., Hong Kong, China
Andrew N. Liveris; CEO, The Dow Chemical Company, USA
John A. Luke, Chairman of the Board and CEO, MeadWestvaco Corporation, USA
Harold McGraw III, Chairman, President and CEO, The McGraw-Hill Companies, USA
Gérard Mestrallet, Chairman and CEO, Suez, France
Yogendra K. Modi, Chairman, YKM Holdings, India
Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, Chairman, Anglo American, UK
A. C. Muthiah, Chairman, SPIC Ltd, India
Mehmet Narin, Chairman, United Asian Holdings Ltd., Hong Kong, China
William G. Parrett, CEO, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, USA
Lars Pettersson, President and CEO, Sandvik, Sweden
S. K. Poddar, Chairman, Poddar Heritage Investments Ltd, India
Markku Pohjola, Deputy Group CEO and Country CEO, Nordea, Finland
Antoni Pont Amenós, Chairman, Borges SA, Spain
Tariq M. Rangoonwala, Chairman, Rangoonwala Group of Companies, Pakistan
Soon-Jong Rhee, Vice Chairman & CEO, Hanwha Corporation, Korea
Fadi Saab, Chairman, Trans Mediterranean Airways, Lebanon
Frédéric Sanchez, Chairman of the Executive Board, Compagnie de Fives-Lille, France
M. K. Sanghi, Chairman & Managing Director, Sanghi Organisation, India
Mikio Sasaki, Chairman of the Board, Mitsubishi Corporation, Japan
Bark-Jae Shin, Chairman & CEO, Philips Semiconductors Korea, Korea
Paul Skinner, Chairman, Rio Tinto, UK
Hans Stråberg, President and CEO, Electrolux, Sweden
Min-Sok Suh, Chairman & CEO, Dong-Il Corporation, Korea
Sir John Sunderland, Chairman, Cadbury Schweppes, UK
Carl-Henric Svanberg, President and CEO, Ericsson, Sweden
Banny P. L. Tam, Chairman, Akei Holdings Co Ltd., Hong Kong, China
Gunter Thielen Chairman & CEO, Bertelsmann AG, Germany
Joseph Torbey, Chairman, Credit Libanais S.A.L, Lebanon
Sadao Umeda, Chairman and Representative Director, Kajima Corporation, Japan
Jeroen van der Veer, Chief Executive, Royal Dutch Shell, Netherlands/UK
Nicolas A. Vernicos, President, Vernicos Maritime Group, Greece
Ben Verwaayen, Chief Executive, BT Group, UK
Richard Waugh, President and CEO, Scotiabank, Canada
Gérard Worms, Vice Chairman, Rothschild Europe, France
Patrick Po Kong Wu, Vice Chairman & Executive Director, Wing Lung Bank Ltd., Hong Kong, China
Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management, DaimlerChrysler AG, Germany
Click here to read text of ERT letter