Brussels, 08/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - Karel De Gucht is to meet his counterparts for the 8th WTO ministerial conference in Geneva from 15 to 17 December, which is expected to confirm the fact that the Doha Round has reached an impasse, ten years after it was first launched. He considers the constant blocking of multilateral talks on the liberalisation of world trade somewhat “demoralising”, and puts the stalemate in the talks down to the United States, in particular. Speaking with Asian media representatives on 7 December, De Gucht deplored the fact that Doha is not part of the US agenda. Furthermore, he added, no-one comes out of the standoff a winner, given the “uncertainty” that it causes with regard to world trade. De Gucht, however, is not convinced that stances will change before the next US presidential elections. “We cannot move forward if the United States or Europe is not part of the deal”, he stressed.
Karel De Gucht is, moreover, concerned about the setting in place of new protectionist measures, especially non-tariff barriers, like those recently adopted by Brazil on R&D investment obligations on foreign businesses, or by China for electric cars. In 2008, the trade commissioner commented, as reported by the agency Belga, that a first wave of measures are still 80% in application. However, at present, there is a second, more structural wave - and that is very dangerous, he said. It is therefore, he asserted, necessary to have a stronger WTO where new subjects such as investment, intellectual property and energy can be discussed. (EH/transl.jl)