2/20/08

Brazil, India call to save Doha round


Brazil and India once again called upon the United States and European Union to cut agricultural subsidies and open their markets in an effort to revive the Doha Round.
The Economic Times on Tuesday reported the result of the weekend meeting in Brasilia between the foreign ministers of Brazil (Celso Amorim) and India (Pranab Mukherjee).
The Doha negotiations that began in 2001 in the Qatari capital aim to cut trade barriers and foster world trade to take millions of people out of poverty.
Everyone is interested in bringing the Doha Round to an end, but it could be attained only with an agreement over the agricultural issue, "which would be possible if the developed countries eliminate the subsidies and open their markets," Amorim pointed out.
Mukherjee supported this statement and stressed that "subsidies must be drastically reduced" to allow for successful Doha negotiations.
Amorim and Mukherjee agreed that the parties must negotiate their differences.

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