WTO Trade Negotiations Continue
Lamy is optimistic but says no time for complacency.
Compiled by staff
Published: Jun 14, 2010
In a Friday statement to the WTO Trade Negotiations Committee, WTO director-General Pascal Lamy said negotiations are not yet at a stage when we can engage in a horizontal give and take on the issues which remain open. For this to happen, Lamy said all these issues need to be at the same level of technical maturity and this is not the case yet. The Director-General emphasized the need to keep working on all topics.
"A more ambitious outcome cannot be achieved without a balanced package of benefits across the membership," Lamy said. "The challenge is to aim for high ambition while ensuring balance."
Lamy urged consistent hard work for as long as it takes, and says he remains optimistic, though this is not the time for complacency. Next Monday Lamy says he will make available his report on trade-related developments during the period since Nov. 1, 2009.
"As you will see in my report, there has been a decline in the number of new measures and in their coverage of trade relative to levels found in earlier reports," Lamy said. "But although these declines are to be welcomed, there is a growing risk of an accumulation of trade restricting measures implemented since the outbreak of the crisis."
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