President says leaders of Pacific Rim countries can advance global trade talks that have been stalled for 2 years on disagreements between rich and poor nations. September 5 2007: 6:38 AM EDT
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Pacific Rim leaders can help advance stalled global trade talks at a weekend summit here, President Bush said Wednesday.
Negotiations in the so-called Doha round of trade talks have been bogged down for about two years amid bickering between rich and poor nations over how much to cut barriers to farm and industrial trade.
Leaders of the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation will urge fresh action on the global negotiations at their Sydney summit, according to draft documents obtained by The Associated Press.
"The question is, can we advance the Doha round here at APEC? I believe we can," Bush said during a press conference with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, the host of the meeting. "It's a hard issue to get done, but I believe with will and determination we can get it done."
APEC leaders are "greatly concerned" about the lack of progress in those trade talks, according to a draft of the final statement to be released at the end of their weekend meeting.
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