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Ministers of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Cairns, Australia, said they were eager for a successful conclusion to the Doha round of trade talks, but would also be pushing ahead with plans for a regional trading block.
“There has never been a more urgent need to make progress (on the Doha talks),” APEC said in a special statement released on July 5, 2007. “We need to make cuts in agricultural and industrial tariffs… We will demonstrate the necessary political will and flexibility, and call upon other World Trade Organisation members to do the same,” the statement read.
If unsuccessful this year, the World Trade Organisation negotiations on freer global trade “will go into hibernation,” warned US Trade Representative Susan Schwab.
Talks have stalled over the failure of the US, the European Union, India, Brazil and China to open up agricultural and industrial markets, and end subsidies
Around 30 trade officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva later this month to thrash out differences over agriculture and manufacturing in a bid to arrive at a final series of “text” agreements.
Australian trade minister Warren Trust also told reporters that a decision was made to further examine prospects for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) for the Asia-Pacific.
An APEC-wide free trade zone would stretch from the United States to Russia, and from Chile to Australia, and cover 40% of the world's population and 56% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Such a trade pact is still at the talking stage; ministers in Cairns stressed that the WTO talks were their first priority.
APEC includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the US and Vietnam.
July 6, 2007
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