For Immediate Release
December 13, 2005 |
Contact: Tita Freeman, Business Roundtable
202-496-3269;
24-hour contact in Hong Kong: 001-202-368-2883
or Eric Thomas, The Fratelli Group 202-822-9491 |
Hong Kong - The American Business Coalition for Doha (ABCDoha)
today called on the world's trade ministers "to infuse optimism,
creativity, and a renewed sense of commitment and urgency
to the Doha Round," during this week's WTO Ministerial meetings
in Hong Kong.
In a "Call to Action" issued to world trade ministers at
a press briefing in Hong Kong, ABCDoha stated: "The U.S. business
community does not accept the premise that expectations must
be lowered for the outcome of Hong Kong. Delaying the difficult
decisions required to move the talks forward could jeopardize
the prospects of concluding this round by the end of 2006
which we believe is realistic and should remain the collective
goal of WTO members."
The ABCDoha delegation in Hong Kong this week includes representatives
from more than 70 U.S. companies and leading trade associations
dedicated to achieving ambitious results from the Doha Round
of multilateral trade negotiations.
"Hong Kong is an important milestone in these historic negotiations.
Now is the time for serious action on the part of every WTO
member if we are to fulfill the promise of the Doha Round.
Action now will bring the benefits sooner to WTO member countries
who want to grow their economies and improve the lives of
their citizens today," the statement concluded.
Click here to view the full
text of the ABCDoha Call to Action.
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