UK’s Cameron wants “coalition of willing” on trade

UK prime minister David Cameron, speaking at Davos, called for groups of like-minded states to advance the free trade agenda, even in the absence of a deal on the Doha Round: In the absence of a conclusion to the Doha free trade talks, Mr Cameron also proposed that a "coalition of the willing" could "forge ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

UK prime minister David Cameron, speaking at Davos, called for groups of like-minded states to advance the free trade agenda, even in the absence of a deal on the Doha Round:

UK prime minister David Cameron, speaking at Davos, called for groups of like-minded states to advance the free trade agenda, even in the absence of a deal on the Doha Round:

In the absence of a conclusion to the Doha free trade talks, Mr Cameron also proposed that a "coalition of the willing" could "forge ahead with more ambitious deals of their own" with agreements with India, Canada and Singapore.

He also called for the EU to "look at options for agreement" with the US in a deal that "could have a bigger impact than all of the other agreements put together".

"And why not an ambitious deal between Europe and Africa?" he went on.

Mr Cameron added: "This is a bold agenda on trade which can deliver tangible results this year, and I am proposing that we start work on it immediately. All these decisions lie in our own hands. The problems we face are man-made, and with bold action and real political will we can fix them."

On Saturday, trade ministers at Davos are expected to meet informally to discuss the state of play, although expectations are low.

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

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