Top US trade envoy says no winners if global trade talks collapse

Visiting United States Trade Representative Susan Schwab Tuesday in Beijing warned that there would be no winners if the Doha Round of trade talks eventually collapsed.

Addressing a luncheon hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, Schwab said there would be "litigations" between countries rather than negotiations should the talks fail.

She called on countries, rich and poor, to push for resumption of the stalled global trade talks.

The Doha Round talks under the World Trade Organization (WTO) were suspended last month following a bitter dispute between Europe and the United States over farm tariffs and subsidies.

The seven industrialized countries, or G7, failed to reach a consensus at the talks, Schwab told reporters. She urged China to play an active role in reviving the talks during her luncheon speech.

"It is my strong hope" that China will play a greater role in pushing for the resumption of the talks as the global trade system is so important for China, she said.

She also urged India, Brazil and other developing countries to contribute to the talks.

Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai said during his Monday talks with Schwab that "China is willing to continue to participate in the talks in a constructive manner along with other nations and to actively push for the resumption of the Doha negotiation process".

"We hope that developed WTO members will make substantial contributions so that the talks can be resumed as soon as possible and the objectives of the negotiations reached in a timely manner, " he said.

Meanwhile, China has urged developed countries to pay more attention to development issues.

"The Doha Round is a development round and the emphasis in the talks should be placed on development issues in order to break the stalemate and promote a fair, stable and open multilateral trading system," Bo said.

Source: Xinhua