Round Table on Trade and Sustainable Development

(Lima, November 23, 2010).- Experts in trade and development began today a discussion on the opportunities and challenges which the multilateral negotiations agenda creates for the region, with respect to national policies of international participation in the global economy and the agendas for bilateral negotiations.

The event took place during the round table organized by the World Trade Organization and CAF, with the support of the International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), which was held on November 23 and 24 in Lima, Peru.

During these events, specialists from WTO, CAF, ICTSD, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Andean Community, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, and representatives of academic, business and public sectors, reviewed the current state of the Doha Round for development , emphasizing the key issues for Latin American countries, such as the negotiations on agriculture, the dispute settlement mechanism, the relationship between the multilateral negotiations and regional agreements, and the role of Latin America in dealing with the implications of climate change for trade.

María Pérez-Esteve, WTO representative, said the Doha Round would offer developing countries results which could be achieved only in the multilateral negotiations. She considered that the political support expressed by the leaders of the G20 in Seoul must be grasped in order to intensify and conclude the negotiations in the short run. The results of the Round would contribute to increasing the participation of Latin American economies in international trade and in the benefits stemming from the economic growth of the large markets of the emerging economies, the high levels of consumption in the developed countries, and the greater dynamism of south-south trade, the WTO official added.

Leonardo Villar, CAF vice president of Development Strategies and Public Policies, said the objective was to convert this experience into a permanent forum for dialogue on the world situation in the area of international trade, and the opportunities and threats facing Latin America in its search for sustainable development and regional integration.

These conferences – he added – were part of the CAF Program of Support for Trade and Economic Integration, whose objective is to supplement the activities of the Latin American development bank in support of the efforts of the countries of the region to expand and improve participation in global markets, and build larger areas of cooperation in order to strengthen regional integration.

Miguel Rodríguez-Mendoza, ICTSD representative, said the forum explored the opportunities which exist for making headway in the Round, and for analyzing the realities of the free trade agreements now in operation. The purpose is to stimulate a frank and participative discussion and dialogue, where participants can freely express their opinions in order to identify channels for progress and areas of action for Latin America.