WTO head may address Asean leaders in Cebu

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Pascal Lamy will have the opportunity to address the leaders of the 500 million-strong Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) trade bloc if he decides to accept the invitation extended by President Arroyo to attend the 12th ASEAN Leaders’ Summit to be held in Cebu from Dec. 11 to 13.

According to Senior Trade Undersecretary Thomas Aquino, the still unaccepted invitation to Lamy would give the WTO head an opportunity to update the ASEAN leaders on the status of the stalled WTO negotiations.

The ASEAN market, according to Aquino, is about 500 million and cannot be considered "peanuts."

The Cebu gathering, therefore, Aquino said, "is an important gathering."

In fact, the European Union, Aquino pointed out, is a major trading partner of ASEAN.

With the WTO talks currently at an impasse, a dialogue between Lamy and the ASEAN leaders could be helpful in creating a groundswell for the resumption of the stalled talks.

The WTO Doha Round has been bogged down due to major differences over agricultural subsidy policies, pitting developed countries led by the United States and the European Union against developing countries such as Brazil, India, Africa and Asean.