Financial crisis spurs the WTO negotiations

Press release 391/2008
20 October, 2008

The situation arising from the international financial crisis must be used to advantage in the ongoing WTO agreement negotiations, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen stated at a seminar arranged by the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK in Helsinki.

Väyrynen pointed out that the decision to launch the Doha round was taken in late 2001, in the wake of the terrorist attack that took place on September 11th, when there was a wish to strengthen the base of international cooperation.

“A WTO agreement that increases freedom of trade and rejects protectionism would be an important factor stabilising and reviving the global economy in a situation where many countries face the risk of recession owing to the financial crisis,” Väyrynen stressed.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Väyrynen said that significant progress had been made at the Ministerial meeting held in Geneva in July, and that reaching an agreement was very close. The financial crisis may give rise to the political will making it possible to bring the negotiations to a positive conclusion rather quickly, Väyrynen considered.

“The European Union should strive at the high-level negotiations on the financial crisis to spur rapid conclusion of the WTO negotiations,” Väyrynen said.

Additional information: Ossi Martikainen, Senior Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, tel. +358 9 1605 6306, Ilkka-Pekka Similä, Head of the Unit for the EU’s Trade Policy and Economic Relations, tel. +358 9 1605 5530