Лекция: U.N. hopes trade talks will restart before year end

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The U.N. Secretary-General said on Wednesday he hoped the Doha round of global trade negotiations* can be restarted by the end of the year, according to a statement issued by his spokesperson.

Marathon talks on a new global trade pact collapsed on Tuesday as the United States and India refused to compromise over a proposal to help poor farmers in the developing world deal with floods of imports.

The Secretary General spoke on Wednesday to the World Trade Organization chief on the issue, the statement said, and the two leaders stressed the need to ensure the break in negotiations would not be long. «They hoped that by regrouping forces, the Doha negotiations could be revitalized before the end of the year,» the statement read. «The Secretary General is convinced that a successful conclusion to the talks was needed to energize international cooperation towards ameliorating conditions for developing countries to derive gains from trade and investment-led globalization,» it added.

The Doha round of global trade negotiations – Дохийский раундпереговоров по торговле и развитию, инициированный ВТО. Переговоры начались в столице Катара в 2001 году и должны были завершиться в 2004. Однако до сих пор остаются разногласия между развитыми и развивающимися странами по некоторым важным вопросам.