AGL 40.39 Increased By ▲ 0.39 (0.98%)
AIRLINK 127.59 Increased By ▲ 0.55 (0.43%)
BOP 6.66 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.15%)
CNERGY 4.51 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
DCL 8.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-1.17%)
DFML 41.70 Increased By ▲ 0.26 (0.63%)
DGKC 87.10 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (0.29%)
FCCL 32.18 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-0.31%)
FFBL 65.00 Increased By ▲ 0.20 (0.31%)
FFL 10.15 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-0.98%)
HUBC 110.49 Increased By ▲ 0.92 (0.84%)
HUMNL 14.70 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.14%)
KEL 5.14 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (1.78%)
KOSM 7.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.26 (-3.49%)
MLCF 41.60 Increased By ▲ 0.22 (0.53%)
NBP 59.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.51 (-0.84%)
OGDC 195.00 Increased By ▲ 4.90 (2.58%)
PAEL 28.50 Increased By ▲ 0.67 (2.41%)
PIBTL 7.86 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.38%)
PPL 151.51 Increased By ▲ 1.45 (0.97%)
PRL 26.62 Decreased By ▼ -0.26 (-0.97%)
PTC 16.15 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.5%)
SEARL 78.55 Decreased By ▼ -7.45 (-8.66%)
TELE 7.47 Decreased By ▼ -0.24 (-3.11%)
TOMCL 35.60 Increased By ▲ 0.19 (0.54%)
TPLP 8.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-1.48%)
TREET 16.32 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-0.55%)
TRG 53.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.29 (-0.54%)
UNITY 26.70 Increased By ▲ 0.54 (2.06%)
WTL 1.26 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 9,950 Increased By 66 (0.67%)
BR30 30,921 Increased By 321.3 (1.05%)
KSE100 93,884 Increased By 528.7 (0.57%)
KSE30 29,102 Increased By 171.3 (0.59%)

China rejected on Monday calls from the United States and European businesses to join a pact eliminating import duties in the chemical sector as part of a global trade deal. The refusal, voiced by China''s ambassador to the World Trade Organisation, Sun Zhenyu, showed how difficult it would be to reach agreement in one of the most sensitive areas of the WTO''s long-running Doha round.
"We can''t participate in the chemical sector," Sun told a panel discussion at the WTO''s annual public forum. "According to the mandate sectors are voluntary. In this case China is not so voluntary to join that one." G20 leaders reaffirmed last week their goal of concluding the Doha round, now in its eighth year, in 2010.
But the United States has said the current deal does not create enough new opportunities for business. It wants big emerging countries like China, India and Brazil to open their markets more. A favoured option is through deals eliminating or almost eliminating tariffs in individual industrial sectors beyond any overall tariff cuts agreed in a broader agreement.
But China and other big emerging countries are suspicious of efforts to force them to join sector deals, which are voluntary under the terms of the Doha negotiations. Sun linked China''s reluctance to cut tariffs further than it has already offered, or participate in sector deals, to trade measures it faces from its partners, such as this month''s increase in US tariffs on Chinese tyres to block imports.

Copyright Reuters, 2009

Comments

Comments are closed.