The Director-General of the World Trade Organization says negotiators have failed to craft a global trade deal that could have given the world economy a one-trillion dollar boost. According to Director-General Roberto Azevedo – negotiators for the WTO’s members tried hard but just couldn’t cross the finish line. Ministers were supposed to have a deal to sign next week in Bali, Indonesia. But talks stalled over the details in Geneva the past few days and Azevedo says it will not be possible to negotiate the final details in Bali. He says negotiators are close to the finish line – but it would take several more weeks of negotiations could close the gaps.
Failure to reach a global deal – according to Azevedo – would have grave consequences for the multilateral trade system and hurt the WTO’s credibility. He says the organization would only be viewed as a trade court and no longer as a forum for governments to negotiate trade agreements.
Source: NAFB News Service