G20 must address collapsing world trade, says UK

[Joanne98]

Source: Reuters


LONDON (Reuters) - The G20 meeting of world political leaders next month must address the issue of falling global trade activity, which has "devastated" many countries, Britain's special representative to the summit said on Sunday.

Foreign Office Minister Mark Malloch-Brown said leaders of the world's major and emerging economies, who meet in London on April 2, did now understand that recovery from the global financial crisis rested on common agreement and not protectionism.

"I think free trade is the fastest-moving issue in these last days leading up to the summit because everywhere round the world I go to consult on this summit, countries are devastated by the sudden collapse of trade," he told BBC TV.

"(The G20 leaders) are all aware that the biggest risk of all is that they leave this summit with an appearance of a fragmented, warring global economy, breaking up into its nationalistic parts."

A World Bank report last week said countries, including 17 members of the G20, had implemented 47 trade curbs despite leaders agreeing at a previous meeting in November not to impose any new restrictions.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and European Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton last week pledged to push for a deal in the long-running Doha round of world trade talks as soon as possible.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE52L0KL20090322

---

There's that "protectionist" word again. And Doha's baaaack!

[Lasher]

1. Well I guess that silver lining thing is true.

There's something good in most things, even Junior's Great Recession.

[Deja Q]

2. More like "D'oh". Hopefully they'll read the same news sources and see the obvious:

Other countries are already engaging in protectionism, yet it's apparently evil for the US to even think about doing it too.

:shrug:

[ixion]

3. well, it wasn't a good idea to build an entire civilization on 'trade'

So lesson learned?

If history serves, no it will not be learned.

My hope is that someday, probably many years after I'm gone, that humans will finally build an enlightened civilization based knowledge and art. One that will exemplify the best in humankind, rather than the worst.