Asia Summit Pushes WTO Talks
14th Nov 2006, 00:42 GMT
President Bush and Pacific Rim leaders meeting in Vietnam this weekend will issue an SOS for stalled world trade talks, while mulling a region-wide free trade agreement, officials said Monday. Leaders of the 21 economies of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum plan to issue an urgent appeal for compromise to help break the deadlock in the World Trade Organization talks, Vietnam's deputy foreign minister, Le Cong Phung, said after senior officials ended two days of preliminary talks. "Given the deadlock ... members agreed APEC leaders will issue a standalone statement," Phung said. "This special statement, with special recommendations and measures, reflects the strong determination of APEC members to resume negotiations." Prospects to revive the "Doha round" of world trade negotiations -- named for the Qatari capital where they began five years ago- are fading. Bush's authority to negotiate a "fast-track" agreement that can be submitted to Congress for a simple yes-or-no vote without amendments is due to expire on July 1, 2007. "This is the last chance for APEC leaders to save the Doha Development Agenda from deadlock," said Phung, who chaired meetings of senior officials preparing for the summit this weekend. APEC members stretch from Russia to New Zealand and Chile -- a diverse grouping that if mobilized could give new life to the sputtering WTO talks. The grouping played a pivotal role in reviving the earlier "Uruguay round" of trade talks. Progress on WTO in Hanoi would be icing on the cake for Vietnam, which is showcasing its own economic reforms as it prepares to become the Geneva-based trade watchdog's 150th member next month. Meanwhile, a proposal for a free-trade area encompassing the entire Asian-Pacific region has also reemerged as a key item on the APEC agenda, Phung said. Business leaders have floated the idea out of frustration with APEC's slow progress toward goals, set in...
Asia Summit Pushes WTO Talks related news:
- Asia Summit Pushes WTO Talks, Free Trade — ABC News: Business
- Asia summit pushes WTO talks, free trade (AP) — Yahoo! News: Business
- APEC officials debate trade talks push ahead of summit (AFP) — Yahoo! News: Top Stories
- APEC officials debate trade talks push ahead of summit — AFP - Wire stories
- A worker sweeps a park in Hanoi during the Asia-Pacific Economic ... — Top Stories World Photos - AFP on Yahoo! News Photos
- S Asia rivals set to resume talks — BBC News | World | South Asia | UK Edition
- A worker stands in front of a poster promoting the APEC summit ... — Top Stories World Photos - AFP on Yahoo! News Photos
- S Asia rivals resume peace talks — BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition
- HEALTH: Battle for Cheap Drugs Also Being Lost in WTO — IPS Inter Press Service
- Motorcyclists drive past a banner promoting the Asia-Pacific ... — Business Photos on Yahoo! News Photos
Latest news from NewsFactor Business:
- NYSE Books $28M Charge for Job Cuts
- Jim Allchin Clarifies Windows Antivirus Remarks
- Deutsche Telekom Gets a New CEO
- Japanese Stocks Fall to Six-Week Low
- Anadarko Selling Oilfield for $1.35 Billion
- U.S. Commerce Secretary Visits China
- Tyson Foods Posts Quarterly Loss
- Google Downplays Video Copyright Suit
- APEC Mulls Pacific-Wide Free Trade Zone
- Wal-Mart Quarterly Profit Up 11.5 Percent