The G8 nations dropped a commitment on Saturday to complete the troubled Doha trade round this year and promised to pursue bilateral and regional trade talks until a global deal could be done.
WTO members launched the Doha Round in 2001 but talks have stalled amid arguments over how much rich countries should cut farm subsidies and tariffs in exchange for developing nations opening up their markets.
A communique issued at the end of the G8 summit said merely that members renewed their pledge to finish the round.
PHOTO: AFP
Last year, a G8 summit in Italy and a Pittsburgh meeting of the G20 both committed to an end date for this year.
“G8 members of the WTO renew their commitment to the successful conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda, building on the progress already made,” a joint statement of the eight said.
The text dropped a previous deadline to complete the round by the end of this year. In Toronto, leaders instead appeared to open the door to more regional and bilateral deals, which backers of the Doha Round say make it more difficult to secure a global deal.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who chaired the G8 summit, used words like “at some point” and “eventually” to describe when the deal could be done.
“I would never go so far as to say Doha is dead. I don’t think it’s true and I don’t think we can afford to say that. We’ve got to find a path over time to get to a successful conclusion,” Harper told a closing news conference.
“Those of us who favor liberalized trade are not going to stand still ... Canada and many other governments are committed to more aggressively pursuing bilateral and regional trade deals as a way of kick-starting the process while we see the Doha talks remaining stalled,” he said.
Trade ministers have long said a multilateral trade deal at the WTO is more beneficial for the global economy than more limited bilateral and regional agreements.
Canada, which is holding talks with the EU about a possible free-trade agreement, has in recent years signed such deals with Israel and Chile. Along with the US and Mexico, it is part of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which came into force in 1994.
The US last week blamed China and other big emerging economies for the deadlock.
Harper said the G8 agreed that “to have a successful round in the Doha Round, eventually we all must raise our level of ambition.”
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
RSS