The Wall Street Journal-20080123-Politics - Economics- Commitment Remains to Doha
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Politics & Economics: Commitment Remains to Doha
BRUSSELS -- Trade chiefs from the U.S. and the European Union said this week they remain committed to concluding a new global trade pact by year end.
That deadline means the backbone of the agreement, known as the Doha Round, must be tied up by early spring. "We are rapidly moving to the moment of truth in the Doha Round," said EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson.
U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said she hoped to push the talks forward when she and Mr. Mandelson met with other trade ministers at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The gathering at Davos would help put a clear road map in place, Mr. Mandelson said.
Talks between Ms. Schwab and Mr. Mandelson touched on a number of topics of concern to both trading partners.
In a clear rebuff to French President Nicolas Sarkozy's proposal last week for a carbon tax on imports from countries that refuse to cap their greenhouse-gas emissions, both warned against using the battle against climate change as an excuse to throw up new barriers to trade.
"I don't believe trade restrictions are the way forward to combat climate change," Mr. Mandelson said. "They're not cost efficient, they carry a risk of retaliation, they would result in increasing cost for European industry at large."
