LONDON -(Dow Jones)- U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday that making progress in the Doha trade round would require very difficult and sensitive talks.
Speaking in parliament, Brown said that the obstacle in getting a trade deal wasn’t the position of the U.K. or of Europe, but getting an agreement with the U.S. and India.
Doing so, will require “very difficult and sensitive negotiations,” Brown said.
The trade talks began eight years ago in Doha, Qatar, and stalled at the end of last year due to disagreements mainly between the U.S., China and India. Countries have been waiting to see what position the Obama administration will adopt on the negotiations.
In an earlier statement on the European Council meeting, Brown also said the E.U. agreed there needs to be “careful monitoring by the World Trade Organization” to ensure nations don’t introduce protectionist policies.
-By Laurence Norman and Natasha Brereton, Dow Jones Newswires, +44-20-7842-9254, natasha.brereton@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2009 12:34 ET (16:34 GMT)
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