Rather than resorting to protectionism, we need to manage globalization better." .
OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria added: "As recession looms, governments must resist pressures to reduce aid or restrict trade and cross-border investment." On the trade front, a successful conclusion of the stalled Doha Development Round of trade talks would help restore business confidence and boost flagging economies, the two sides stressed. They underlined how little remains to be agreed for the Doha "modalities" on agriculture and industrial goods to be concluded. Concluding modalities would pave the way for the full and early conclusion of the Doha Round. .
On the investment front, they noted that governments need to stick to their pledges in favor of freedom of investment flows. Investments by sovereign wealth funds, in particular, can play an important role in providing financial liquidity in the current slowdown. Governments have publicly agreed that they should not impose discriminatory measures against sovereign wealth funds, and this agreement needs to be upheld.
The EU has promised farm concessions to restart the WTO trade talks. Despite some pain for Irish farmers, a deal should be supported, argues Alan Matthews. On May 14th the EU Trade Commissioner, Paschal Lamy, and EU Agriculture Commissioner, Franz Fischler, sent a letter to the trade ministers of other World Trade Organization (WTO) members. It was an important step in trying to rebuild the momentum in the WTO Doha Round of negotiations to reduce trade barriers and agree new trade rules following the breakdown of the Cancún meeting in Mexico last September. The two commissioners made two important concessions so as to inject a new dynamism into the negotiations in an effort to reach a framework agreement by the self-imposed deadline of this July. The first concerned the so-called Singapore issues, covering trade and investment, trade and competition policy, transparency in government procurement and measures to facilitate trade such as the simplification of customs procedures.
