Freer trade viewed as economic remedy at WTO talks

By Jonathan Lynn and Laura MacInnis

GENEVA (Reuters) - Freer trade can help create jobs and support economic growth, and tariff-cutting accords should not be scaled back on account of the global downturn, senior U.S. and other officials said on Monday.

World Trade Organisation Director-General Pascal Lamy told a WTO ministerial conference that completing the long-running Doha round would strengthen the global trading system that had helped countries come through the crisis.

But trade liberalisation had to be backed by other domestic policies to absorb the shocks of increased competition, he told the opening session of the conference.

Launched eight years ago to open markets and help developing countries prosper through more trade, the Doha talks have been extremely tortuous. Political leaders have called for an accord in 2010, but a deal is not yet ready.

"The moment of truth is fast approaching when you will have to decide whether the 2010 target can be met," Lamy told trade ministers from the WTO's 153 members.

"Political leaders are practically unanimous that they want to meet it, but reaffirmation is not enough. Now we need action, concrete and practical action, to close the remaining gaps."

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk told Reuters that the ministers and senior officials gathered in Geneva needed to make sure trade can power continued growth and job creation.

"It's an important opportunity for us to reaffirm the valuable role that liberalising trade around the globe has in sustaining and promoting growth," he said.