APEC leaders pledge political will, flexibility to advance global trade talks

APEC leaders pledge political will, flexibility to advance global trade talks

The Associated PressPublished: September 9, 2007

SYDNEY, Australia: Pacific Rim leaders pledged their political will and flexibility to bring faltering global trade talks into their final phase this year, and called on trading partners to join in the effort, according to a special statement on the issue released Sunday at the end of their weekend summit.

"There has never been a more urgent need to make progress" in the talks, the document said.

Negotiations in the so-called Doha round resumed in Geneva last week on the basis of two new proposals to break a deadlock between rich and poor nations over how much to cut barriers in agricultural and industrial trade. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum leaders said overall success of the negotiations depends on early progress in bridging gaps in those two critical areas, the statement said.

"We pledge the political will, flexibility and ambition to ensure the Doha Round negotiations enter their final phase this year," it said. "We call on our WTO partners to join in this vital effort."

A successful global trade agreement would "deliver new trade flows for the benefit of all, including developing countries," it added.

APEC members, which include trading powers China, Japan and the United States, collectively accounting for half of global trading volume and thus have a major stake in helping to create a rules-based, global trading system, the statement said.

A separate, broader final declaration from the leaders also highlighted steps announced by the leaders Saturday to curb global warming, which included two nonbinding goals on improving energy efficiency and increasing forest cover.

The leaders will continue to examine a proposal to create a Pacific-wide free-trade zone that would stretch from China to Chile and include all 21 APEC members, the broader final declaration said. APEC officials say the idea, dubbed the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, faces numerous hurdles and is a long-term prospect.

In the area of enhancing human security, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to dismantle terrorist groups, eliminate the danger posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and protect financial systems from abuse by terrorist groups, the statement said, without offering further specifics.

The leaders also agreed on the need to develop a more robust approach to strengthening food and consumer produce safety standards and practices, the document said.