WTO Nations Seek Trade Pact Amid Slowdown, Nath Says

World Trade Organization members are seeking a successful conclusion of the Doha round of trade talks to counter an economic slowdown sparked by mortgage defaults and rising oil prices, India's Trade Minister Kamal Nath said.

``Everybody is looking for an antidote to the uncertain global economic output,'' Nath, one of the four key partners in international trade talks besides the U.S., Europe and Brazil, said in an interview in Singapore. ``A successful Doha round will perhaps be a good antidote.''

U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said this week a trade pact is possible in the next 14 months after repeated breakdowns in negotiations since 2001. The deal could add $96 billion annually to the global economy, which the International Monetary Fund forecasts may slow next year due to a housing recession in the U.S.

The WTO talks have failed to yield results so far because the U.S. and Europe won't lower farm subsidies fast enough, while developing nations including India, Brazil and South Africa say they would have to cut industrial tariffs more than developed countries.

Schwab, who was in Singapore to meet with trade ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said the world's biggest economy is showing more flexibility in the world trade talks, adding there's ``every reason to expect'' the Doha round can be concluded before President George W. Bush leaves office in January 2009.

U.S. Flexibility

``I think so too because of the flexibility the U.S. proposes to show,'' Nath said. ``Probably the flexibilities which she has in her pocket are the flexibilities which are needed to move forward on this. Certainly the U.S. is the most important player on this and the moment the U.S. shows flexibility the process moves on.''

The IMF last month cut its projection for global growth next year to 4.8 percent from an estimate of 5.2 percent in July and warned that even its new prediction may be too optimistic given threats posed by the sell-off in credit markets.

The U.S. subprime crisis has claimed the jobs of three Wall Street chief executive officers including Citigroup Inc.'s Charles O. Prince III and prompted more than $45 billion in writedowns at the world's biggest banks. The total global loss from the subprime mess may reach $400 billion, Deutsche Bank AG said Nov. 12.
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