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WTO head urges countries to give up protectionism

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-02 21:10

SYDNEY -- Director-General of the World Trade Organization Pascal Lamy said Monday protectionist instincts were understandable in the current global financial crisis but such regulations would be equivalent to "shooting their own foot."

Speaking at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney as part of its Distinguished Speaker Series, Lamy said, "People want to protect their jobs, they want to protect their pensions, or their money in the markets."

Related readings:  EU leaders say no to protectionism  No protectionism in China's economic stimulus plans  China: protectionism is no cure to crisis  Reject protectionism

Focusing on the values of the multilateral trading system in his speech, Lamy told the audiences that "smart protectionism is a total oxymoron. It doesn't work."

The only answer to the economic crisis "is to stimulate trade and spending," he added.

During his speech, the director-general praised Brazil, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand for their efforts to cope with the global financial crisis.

The WTO last month announced it would step up its monitoring of protectionist commercial policies amid rising fears that nations will exacerbate the economic crisis by retreating from open markets.