APEC Trade Ministers meeting in Peru have been focussing on the crisis in the WTO negotiations. This Bloomberg report covers the content of their statement. WTO D-G Lamy is still calling for a ministerial outcome this month. But note the following comment from the US which suggests that this major player maybe not in as much of a hurry.
U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab told reporters that she still wants to see a global deal reached this year. She said the meeting in Arequipa shows that developed and developing countries can agree on the importance of expanding free trade. She said ``a lot of work'' remains to bridge divides in the negotiations if a deal is to be reached this year.
``The U.S. is committed to a successful outcome of the Doha Round in 2008, but not at any price,'' Schwab told reporters in Arequipa. ``There is an urgency in terms of time, but content is more important than the calendar.''
