APEC leaders tackle trade at Sydney summit

Sydney, Sep 9: Leaders from 21 Asia-Pacific nations are expected to call today for a final conclusion to world trade talks that have dragged on for six years, ending a two-day summit dominated by climate change and trade.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has said the leaders, who represent major trading nations such as the United States, Japan, China and Russia, will issue a statement on Sunday on trade talks now under way in Geneva.

The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is expected to pledge to ensure that the moribund Doha round of global trade talks enter their final phase this year.

Asia-Pacific foreign and trade ministers meeting in Sydney have already agreed to accelerate global free trade talks.

US President George W Bush has called at APEC for more flexibility in world trade talks, saying the Doha round of talks in Geneva was a ''once-in-a-generation opportunity''.

APEC's 21-member economies account for half of global trade and nearly 60 per cent of the world's gross domestic product.

Trade negotiators may be edging closer to a deal on the most divisive issues in the Doha talks, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said in a television interview yesterday.

''There is a strong sense that it's make-or-break moment. It may take a few weeks, but my sense is that there is a lot of focus and energy,'' Lamy told CNBC in a taped interview.

US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, who is attending APEC, has said she also sees a sense of urgency and motivation among negotiators.

The Doha Round, named after the Qatari capital where negotiations were launched in November 2001, was first meant to wrap up by the end of 2004. The talks have struggled to overcome many countries' resistance to open their farm and manufacturing sectors to more competition.

The APEC leaders agreed on Saturday to a ''long-term aspirational goal'' to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but no binding targets. They also said all nations, developing and developed, should contribute according to their own capacities and circumstances to reducing greenhouse gases.

Green groups said the ''Sydney Declaration'' was a failure without binding targets to cut greenhouse emissions.

The leaders have been meeting behind a tight security cordon at the Sydney Opera House, after police said they feared violent street protests against the Iraq war and global warming.

But yesterday's anti-APEC protest march was peaceful, with only a few arrests.

The final day of the conference will proceed without President Bush, who flew out of Australia late yesterday.

Bush returned home early to prepare for a major report on the progress of the Iraq war.

Reuters>