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Business disappointed by Cancun collapse
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| The outcome in
Cancun was less sunny for the WTO meeting |
Cancun,
Mexico 14 September 2003 - The International Chamber of Commerce,
the world business organization, reacted with disappointment to the collapse
of global trade talks here today, calling on governments to redouble their
efforts
to bring the Doha trade round to a successful conclusion.
"This is obviously a setback, but it is not the end," said ICC
Secretary General Maria Livanos Cattaui. "We have missed an opportunity
here in Cancun to give the world economy a much-needed confidence boost.
The collapse of these talks means that governments must now return to
the very hard work of defining the terms on which we can move the Doha
Development Agenda forward."
"Finding agreement among 146 nations was never going to be easy,"
she said. "But if governments are going to make good on the commitments
they made in Doha, they will have to show infinitely more willingness
to negotiate than has been on display these last few days in Cancun.
"Negotiations of this kind require compromise on all sides. It became
obvious early on at Cancun that some governments were not here to negotiate,
but rather to grandstand or simply reiterate untenable positions.
"There can be no doubt that developing countries need access to the
agricultural markets of developed countries. At the same time, developing
countries should not be afraid to liberalize their own markets. Each side
must be prepared to bring something to
the table."
Ms Cattaui said it was important to keep the failure of the talks in perspective.
"Let's not forget that these talks were only ever intended to set
the parameters for future negotiations.
"The importance of this process succeeding cannot be overstated.
The future of multilateralism will rest largely on our ability to succeed
in this endeavour."
ICC, the International Chamber of Commerce, is the world's largest, most
representative business organization. Its member companies come from 130
countries.
ICC led a business delegation to Cancun comprising some 100 business leaders
from 32 countries, including the US, Bangladesh, Sweden, the Netherlands,
Germany, Australia, and Japan.
For further information
on ICC, visit: www.iccwbo.org
JOURNALISTS NOTE:
ICC officials, (currently in Canada) can be contacted at any time for
comment. Contact ICC Director of Communications, Bryce Corbett. Tel: +
1 418 649 5213.
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