Brown eyes imminent world trade deal

[one...two...tree 2,762]

A world trade deal and reform of global financial institutions could help ease the impact of an expected economic downturn next year, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Saturday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Commonwealth leaders' summit in Uganda, Brown told reporters he believed movement to unblock the stalled talks was "possible... probably during January" next year.

"What divides the different groupings is small enough for there to be a realistic prospect of there being a trade deal," he said at the leaders' retreat on the shores of Lake Victoria.

If a deal was reached, it could help countries ride out recent financial turbulence caused by the fall-out from the crisis in the US high-risk mortgage market, he said.

Both issues -- reform and the WTO -- had been high on the Commonwealth agenda over the last two days and the 53-member grouping was determined to "push forward" fair trade, he said.

Brown said he was confident the United States would move to cut subsidies, Europe reduce tariffs and developing economies like Brazil and India open up markets and services.

All of which have been major stumbling blocks in the so-called Doha development round of talks.

But if stalemate continued, Brown warned protectionism will increase, with effects on bilateral trade agreements between countries, neither of which will help the global economy in the coming year.

"Steering a course of stability" through sound macro-economic policy was important to weather the gathering storm of slower growth, he said.

But so was reforming institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank along the lines of national regulators or central banks to act as an "early warning system" for financial turbulence, he said.

Currently, "the world's institutions are not strong enough to deal with the impact of events as they happen and our response is not yet good enough", he added.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071124/wl_uk...BuMnrJNowXjOrgF

[Peikko 1,575]

I wondered who 'Brown Eyes' was

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I wondered who 'Brown Eyes' was

You gotta wonder about some of the headlines they give these stories.

[Ban Hammer 14,652]

i thought this was about brnidgurl

[Marilyn. 340]

i thought they might be talking about Mexicans or something

[natty bumppo 297]

Not about Van the Man ??? figures ... youngsters ....