Ericsson chairman urges Doha round completion

Ericsson's chairman, one of Europe's leading businessmen, called yesterday for governments to agree a new international trade deal to help create jobs. Michael Treschow said failure to reach agreement in the Doha round of trade talks would put at risk billions of dollars of new trade.

Even implementing what had been agreed so far in the talks, launched nearly six years ago in the Qatari capital, would boost trade and employment, said the telecom network maker's chairman.

"Who is prepared to take the decision that those jobs shouldn't be created?" Mr Treschow asked a conference on regional trade agreements held at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

"Save what you can from the Doha Round, and then go on," said MrTreschow, who is also chairman of Anglo-Dutch consumer goods group Unilever Plc/NV.

The Doha round, intended to help developing countries export their way out of poverty, is at a "make or break" stage, according to WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy.

Negotiations resumed in Geneva this month and leaders of Asia-Pacific economies meeting in Sydney at the weekend, including the US, promised flexibility and political will to forge a deal by the end of this year.

But the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (Apec) also said they would continue to examine the possibility of a regional free-trade area.

Mr Treschow said such regional and bilateral trade agreements - there are now more than 200 in operation - ran counter to the way modern business worked.

Companies were no longer based in individual countries or regions, but used global supply chains.

"When all this is happening, how can you claim that regionalism for business is a good idea?" he asked. For instance, a mobile phone typically has 900 components from 60 suppliers in 40 countries, and is then sold to customers in 90 countries, Mr Treschow said.

If countries impose tariffs on products through regional or preferential trade agreements, companies would have to adjust.

"Things happen so quickly that what was once defined as one product becomes a different product today."