8 April 2008

U.S. business in Geneva to lobby for WTO deal

This article is excerpted from the 7 April 2008 edition of “The Journal of Commerce”.

Business lobbyists from the United States are meeting at World Trade Organization headquarters in Geneva this week to push for favorable terms in a new global trade deal.

The visits by the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Business Coalition for Doha and the Coalition of Services Industries could be a further indication that negotiators are close to an agreement in the long-running Doha round of talks…

 In addition, a memorandum by Bob Vastine, president of the CSI, … shows that the United States believes it is now making progress in talks on the crucial services sector with Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Egypt and Turkey but is still facing problems with China, India and Southeast Asian countries. …

On April 4 WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said that ministers were likely to meet by the end of May to craft an outline deal on the Doha round, launched in late 2001.