WTO Agreement Could Be Reached Next Week

The World Trade Organization may agree its first worldwide trade reform package before the end of the weekend, its director-general, Roberto Azevedo, said on Friday.

Asked if a deal could be reached by Sunday night, Azevedo told Reuters: “I hope so.”

He spoke as he was entering what could turn out to be one of the last negotiating sessions in the global trade body’s 12 year pursuit of a trade deal, capping 10 weeks of round the clock talks that Azevedo has overseen since he took the helm of the WTO on September 1.

The deal would streamline customs procedures worldwide, making border-crossing processes more predictable and transparent. Studies by the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development have said it would add hundreds of billions of dollars to the world economy.

It also includes some changes to the rules on agriculture and some special treatment for the poorest countries.

via <a href=”http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/22/us-wto-idUSBRE9AL0GE20131122?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews”>Reuters</a>

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza