Under Wto: German minister for global free accord

BERLIN: German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Saturday urged a resumption of long-stalled efforts to negotiate a global free accord, warning that the proliferation of bilateral trade deals could lead to varying standards and rules. “The best thing would be an agreement under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation (WTO),” Gabriel said during a business conference in Hong Kong. “We should restart discussions in the WTO even as we are negotiating comprehensive bilateral agreements.” In the absence of a global trade agreement, Gabriel said it was important that bilateral trade deals also include social, climate and consumer standards, beyond simply reducing tariffs. He said that resistance to free trade agreements such as the one signed last week by the EU and Canada was largely due to insufficient communication by governments about the benefits of such accords and the failure to include citizens and societal groups.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2016.

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