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Canada could host meeting to restart WTO talks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major trading partners could meet in Canada to work on
launching a new round of world trade negotiations following last month's collapse of talks in
Seattle, a top Canadian official said Wednesday.
"It's one of the ideas that we've aired," Canadian International Trade Minister Pierre
Pettigrew told reporters after two days of meetings with U.S. officials.
At this point, the suggestion is just one of many possibilities for trying to get the talks started.
"There's no one idea that everyone's locked onto," he said. "What matters at this stage is that
both on process and on substance we keep our minds open."
Pettigrew met with U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, Commerce Secretary
William Daley and top World Bank and International Monetary Fund officials.
Pettigrew said the United States was eager to resume talks this year, despite the U.S.
presidential election.
"Charlene Barshefsky has confirmed to me today that on the administration's side there was
certainly much interest in moving forward on the multilateral trade system this year, that the
election process is no problem," he said.
Countries are bound by the 1994 Uruguay Round trade pact to begin trade negotiations this
year on agriculture and services, despite last month's failure during meetings in Seattle to
agree on a broader agenda.
To increase the chances of launching a full trade round, Pettigrew said Canada was open to
"rounding out" the built-in agenda of agriculture and services with other areas.
He offered no specifics, but said he expected to discuss a number of ideas when he travels
to Europe next week to meet with British and French trade ministers.
One purpose of a meeting in Canada could be to discuss reforms to make the WTO more
open and effective. However, Pettigrew said it was essential those efforts not delay the goal
of launching the talks.
"I'm not talking about a process that would halt everything back for a year or two," he said.
Looking back on Seattle, Pettigrew said negotiators made a lot of progress closing the gaps
in key areas such as market access and agriculture. He expressed confidence countries
would be able to build on that work to get the round started.
"We're pausing right now. We're continuing to think. We're continuing to meet.... We're
going to get through it," he said.
- WTO David Brooks
- David Brooks
