Britain, EBRD hail new round of WTO trade talks
( 2001-11-15 09:53) (7)
Britain on Wednesday hailed as "historic" the decision by the world's governments to launch a new round of global trade talks aimed at lowering trade barriers and sparking a recovery in the faltering world economy.
"These new world trade negotiations will be good for British consumers, good for our exporters and good for the developing world," said Patricia Hewitt, Minister for Industry and Commerce, praising the "landmark agreement".
Ministers from the 142-member World Trade Organization, meeting in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday agreed to the new round of talks at the close of a gruelling six days of bargaining.
"Every traveller enjoys duty-free shopping. The aim of these negotiations is to make duty-free the norm bringing the benefits of duty-free to every high street, souk and bazaar around the globe," Hewitt said in London.
"The European Union is now committed to negotiations on cutting food export subsidies with a view to their phasing out," she said, while asserting that the talks would also benefit developing countries.
Meanwhile, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) also praised the decision, saying the new talks would encourage trade and growth.
Citing the ailing global economy, EBRD President Jean Lemierre said in a statement the talks were needed now more than ever. He also said developing countries would benefit from the new trade round.
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