APEC Meet Supports Bali – Agenda for Ministerial by End Oct

Success at the WTO’s upcoming ministerial conference is of “utmost importance,” leaders from 21 Asia-Pacific nations urged during their annual summit this past week, warning that a failure to clinch a deal for the December meeting could have lasting ramifications for the multilateral trading system. The political push comes as Geneva-based negotiators race to meet an end-October deadline to conclude their main negotiations.

“We are now at the eleventh hour to put the negotiating function of the WTO back on track,” APEC leaders warned in Bali on Tuesday, noting that the next step will be “critical” for both the global trade body’s role and the multilateral trading system as a whole.