Washington, DC – With time for the successful completion of an ambitious Doha Round growing short, the National Foreign Trade Council today called on the ministers of the G-6 – Australia, Brazil, the European Union, India, Japan, and the United States – to make real progress in the negotiations.
“With the April 30th deadline quickly approaching and time running out overall, the National Foreign Trade Council urges the G-6 Ministers to achieve real progress at their upcoming meeting in London,” said Mary Irace, NFTC’s Vice President of Trade and Export Finance. “There is an enormous opportunity to bolster economic growth worldwide by seizing hold of the promise of the Doha Round through substantial commitments to opening markets and improving trade rules. It is time to get the job done,” she added.
“Later this month, the NFTC will bring a delegation of its members to Geneva to convey its support for substantial results to the Doha Round – its eighth visit to Geneva since the Round was launched. We firmly believe the Doha negotiations present a vital opportunity to tackle important trade barriers multilaterally that hinder growth and development. For the trade talks to succeed, both developed and developing countries must be prepared to make an important contribution,” stated Irace.
“We hope that all six nations are entering this meeting in London with a real commitment to making progress and that they are ready for serious bargaining. The EU and Japan need to be prepared to offer significant new market access opportunities in agriculture. The US needs to make a bigger effort at reducing trade distorting domestic agricultural support. And, India and Brazil must be willing to demonstrate more clearly that they are prepared to address trade in manufactured goods and services in a manner which results in new market access opportunities for foreign suppliers,” according to Irace.
