Copyright 2005 The Financial Times Limited
Financial Times (London, England)

May 4, 2005 Wednesday
London Edition 1

SECTION: INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY; Pg. 9

LENGTH: 452 words

HEADLINE: WTO candidates warn on China curbs

BYLINE: By RAPHAEL MINDER

DATELINE: PARIS

BODY:


The two remaining candidates in the race to head the World Trade Organisation cautioned the US and the European Union yesterday against applying emergency curbs on Chinese textile exports, warning that such a move would smack of hypocrisy.

In separate interviews, Pascal Lamy of France and Carlos Perez del Castillo of Uruguay said western nations could not complain that they were facing a crisis when they had been given 10 years to prepare for the worldwide lifting of quotas, which, since January, has allowed China to boost its clothing exports.

The French government has been leading calls for Brussels to act to restrict Chinese imports, but Mr Lamy, a former EU trade commissioner, said: "It is not the law of the jungle and the WTO rules were clearly set."

"Why are some politicians now not recognising that fact?" he asked.

"I can see two explanations: either their memory is too short or they know that perfectly well and pretend to be surprised, which is frankly a sign of hypocrisy.

"This idea that everybody is now taken by surprise and this is the fault of Brussels is clearly not the right reflex."

Mr Perez del Castillo also said he was against imposing export restrictions rather than adjusting to China's improved efficiency.

In a sign that China is looking to alleviate fears about its exports, rather than escalate the dispute with the US and the EU, Bo Xilai, the Chinese trade minister, said yesterday that voluntary restraints introduced by Beijing were now "bearing fruit in a significant way".

WTO members are expected to select this month a successor to Supachai Panitchpakdi of Thailand, who is leaving at the end of August.

The winner will take the helm of the Geneva trade body at a delicate stage in the Doha Round of world trade negotiations.

Mr Perez del Castillo said he would want to make gatherings such as this December's key ministerial meeting "more flexible", replacing them with annual meetings that would lower expectations. He said: "We have not learnt some of the mistakes from previous failures.

"I think we should deal with trade issues in the same way as issues are being dealt with in other organisations, like the IMF and the World Bank, where they have meetings of ministers every year which sometimes yield results and sometimes don't."

While Mr Lamy has emerged as the frontrunner following the most recent selection round, his Uruguayan rival yesterday underlined his credentials as a champion of developing countries and a long-standing WTO insider.

He said: "What I would be doing as a director-general is the continuity of what I have been doing all my life.

"I don't have to change my script, unlike my rival who, in order to fit into the job, will probably have to change."

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