Call for global alliance to promote free trade
Afp, London
British finance minister Gordon Brown and several of the world's business leaders on Monday called for a global alliance to promote free trade and fight those who argue for increased protectionism. Chancellor of the Exchequer Brown, widely tipped to be the next British prime minister after Tony Blair steps down, warned of a "descent into protectionism", and urged countries around the world to return to the table for the resumption of the Doha Round of trade talks that were suspended in July. His comments were echoed by the heads of nine multi-national corporations and the International Chamber of Commerce, who jointly signed a letter to The Times, writing that "millions of jobs are at stake." The Doha Round of multilateral trade talks began in the Qatari capital at the end of 2001, with the goal of reducing subsidies, tariffs and other barriers to commerce and raising living standards in developing countries. But the talks have consistently been dogged by disputes between rich and poor nations, as well as among wealthy players such as the United States and the European Union, over the concessions required, and were suspended in July. Writing in The Times, Brown said that "the time has come for bold and concerted action to restart the drive for an ambitious trade deal ... I am urging progressive global business leaders and ėthe Britishū government to join forces with governments in a new push for a breakthrough." "Globalisation desperately needs champions, statesmen and business leaders speaking together, to challenge the current descent into protectionism," Brown wrote. The letter, signed by, among others, the chief executives of mobile telephone giant Vodafone, energy company BP, banking groups Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and pharmaceuticals company GlaxoSmithKline, says that political leadership is "essential" at this stage. "We urge those who hold responsibility to reconvene the negotiating process and to reach an agreement which will benefit the world as a whole for decades to come," it reads. According to The Times, Brown's article and the business leaders's letter were timed to coincide with mid-term Congressional elections in the United States on Tuesday -- they hope that President George W. Bush will no longer have to pander to protectionist lobbyists in Washington afterward.
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