In Davos, nations vow to extend global trade deal

[unhappycamper]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WORLD_TRADE?SITE=VANOV&SECTION=BUSINESS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

In Davos, nations vow to extend global trade deal
By JOHN HEILPRIN
Associated Press
Jan 25, 12:50 PM EST

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) -- Trade ministers from many of the world's biggest economies pledged to broaden a deal to boost global trade Saturday, with the U.S. saying nothing is off-limits for discussion.

At a Swiss-hosted meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, ministers from China, the European Union, Japan, the U.S. and 15 other nations agreed to build on the "positive momentum" of a World Trade Organization summit last December in Bali where the organization's 159 member economies agreed to cut customs red tape.

The ministers agreed to address the most difficult remaining negotiating topics of agriculture, market access and services that eluded an agreement last month in the first WTO deal since the global trade body was formed in 1995, said Swiss Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann, who hosted the meeting.

He said the world economic powers agreed to "promptly" build on the Bali agreement with "a particular focus on issues important to least developing countries."




unhappycamper comment: Oligarchs. Never liked them, never will.

[OrwellwasRight]

1. The developing countries

need to band together and use their strength in numbers to change the rules so that the trade rules don't enable and empower the corporations to hoard all the benefits of trade while leaving national governments and people to bear all the costs. You'd think the WTO would have been the chance to make trade work for development, but it's never really worked that way. And even with a Brazilian in charge, the tide doesn't seem to be turning at all away from world government by corporations.