Key players assess prospects for Doha and outline the stakes
Paris, 7 November 2001 - Three key players in the World Trade Organization's bid to launch a new round of multilateral trade negotiations when it meets in Doha on Friday have written articles for ICC on the prospects for agreement.
They are WTO Director-General Mike Moore, US Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick and EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy. All three articles are being published in a special section "The Challenge of Doha" in tomorrow's the International Herald Tribune.
Mr Moore says there is now something on the table for everybody and calls for compromise on all sides. He warns that failure to agree in Doha would be a setback to international cooperation and constitute a major blow to the multilateral trading system at a time of global economic weakness. (link to full text)
Mr Zoellick says that to be successful, further trade liberalization in the WTO must consider the interests of all participants. He argues that this condition can only be fulfilled through a comprehensive round that ensures that all elements to be negotiated are part of a package. (link to full text)
Mr Lamy says that while disagreements on the agenda for a new trade round may remain, there is a greater sense of urgency and a realization of how much is at stake than at any time in the last two years. "Since the anxiety and triggered by the events of 11 September, it is all the more important that we inject some much-needed rays of light into today's economic gloom." (link to full text)
In an article setting out some of the concerns of developing countries, Mexican trade negotiator Luis de la Calle Pardo says a new trade round will be an opportunity truly to integrate them into the multilateral trading system. (link to full text)
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