WB President advises G8+5 to agree over Doha round trade talks
10 Jul '06
3 min read
“While successfully concluding the Doha round will depend on detailed formulas and a painstaking technical process, there is the opportunity for the leaders gathered in St. Petersburg to provide the momentum essential to success. Next week, a collective pledge by the U.S. to reduce agriculture subsidies, by the EU to improve market access and the + 5 Members to limit tariffs on manufactures—a pledge that meets Chief Negotiator Pascal Lamy's “20-20-20” targets—could help seal a deal.
“The world's poorest people, the 1.2 billion living on less than $1 a day, are counting on your good intentions being transformed into decisive action, just as last year when your resolute political leadership launched the historic Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative.
“A pro-development result will yield gains for rich and poor alike. It would be an important step on the path to full liberalization which could eventually generate $300 billion a year in additional production for the world's economy.
Developing countries could gain by as much as $86 billion alone, dwarfing annual bilateral assistance efforts.
“I urge all participants in the July 17 meeting to come prepared to compromise and commit to success.”
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