WTO Negotiations suspended

The Minister for Trade and Commerce, Mr. Michael Ahern, T.D., said today (Monday 24^th July 2006) that he was disappointed that efforts in Geneva to advance the WTO Doha Trade negotiations had not been successful and that the talks had been suspended. He hoped that the negotiations could be resumed as soon as possible towards achieving a worthwhile and balanced agreement.

Mr Ahern stressed that the European Union had made very substantial offers on all of the issues under negotiation and could not have gone any further in its efforts to get agreement. “ It is particularly unfortunate, “ Minister Ahern said, “ that the very real benefits that could have been achieved in the interests of the Developing World will not now be delivered.”

He went on to repeat the Government’s strong support for a balanced and ambitious WTO agreement, one which takes into account the interests of all the participants, developing and developed countries, farmers and industrialists. A well regulated global trading environment, with a strong WTO, was very much in everybody’s interests.

ENDS

TC 238+