ICC looks for rapid action on G8 pledge to conclude Doha trade negotiations in 2010

However, the G8 has set many deadlines for these negotiations in the past which have not been met. International business hopes that after so many years of failure governments may now be on the verge of rapid, concrete, and determined action to reach an ambitious agreement.

ICC welcomes the instruction given to trade ministers to meet before the G20 summit in Pittsburgh this September. We hope this will be more than a stock-taking exercise and will make a decisive contribution towards the conclusion of the negotiations.

Despite the difficulties in reaching agreement on Doha, considerable progress has been made on the negotiations, with many hard-won trade-enhancing offers already agreed to. These achievements must not be lost. A successfully concluded Doha Round is the strongest possible signal governments can give that they will not submit to economic nationalism, which will only result in a longer, deeper recession.

ICC welcomes the reaffirmation of the world’s most industrialized countries to resist protectionism, not to raise new trade barriers, and to support efforts by the World Trade Organization to monitor compliance with the anti-protectionist pledges.