WTO deal must be reached

US: This year is the final chance to complete the Doha round of global trade talks, after 10 years of failed efforts, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Tuesday.

Gillard said one of her key goals in Washington meetings with President Barack Obama this week was to press for a conclusion to the World Trade Organization’s Doha round, as well as advancing the nascent pan-Pacific free trade pact, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP).

“I must emphasize the importance of the WTO Doha round,” she told businessmen at the US Chamber of Commerce.

“The round simply must conclude this year. 2011 is our last and best hope to get this done.” Launched in Doha, Qatar in 2001, the current WTO talks have failed in repeated efforts.

AFP