ELDR Focus Year

WTO talks aimed at striking a global free trade agreement to bring new wealth to rich and poor countries alike, known as the Doha round, collapsed this week once again. Even though the negotiations seemed to be going well well at first -agreements were reached on 18 out of 20 agenda points- the whole package faltered once talks focused on agriculture.

The European Liberal Youth (LYMEC) together with the International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY) deeply regret this new setback of the Doha round.

Reacting to the news, LYMEC President Aloys Rigaut stated: 'The failure of the Geneva talks deprives us of a win-win situation. Once more agricultural protectionism has stood in the way of a deal that would have benefited both the developed and the developing world. With global markets booming, it is high time to remove tariff barriers and quota systems and go for a global liberalisation of markets. This would benefit not only European farmers and consumers, but also bring new opportunities for their counterparts in developing countries.'

IFLRY President Paola Silva declared: 'The renewed breakdown of WTO talks after seven years of effort is bad news for everybody. Trade liberalisation has been the engine of the unprecedented growth in trade of goods and services during the last decades and has proved to be the best way to create wealth in many countries. It is important to continue on that road. Instead of declaring the Doha round as failed and resorting to bilateral agreements, we call on the international community to continue in their efforts to strike a truly global free trade agreement through the common effort of all states involved.'


During last weeks’ semiannual Executive Committee in the Philippines, IFLRY adopted a LYMEC-sponsored resolution calling specifically for the eradication of protectionist policies in Western countries to combat the global increase in food prices.