Against the backdrop of global economic slowdown, countries should jointly resist the increasing trend of trade protectionism in the agriculture sector, said the communique issued by the meeting. The communique demanded the US and EU nations remove relevant subsidies in the shortest timeframe to show leadership in eliminating protectionism.

On June 9 WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said that countries including the US and India conducted multilateral negotiations at the meeting and reached a consensus to resume the Doha Round.

The US government’s new WTO representative Ron Kirk said the US expresses support for the Cairns Group’s demand to resume Doha Round negotiations as soon as possible. The US will do its utmost to formulate a new framework for Doha Round negotiations by August.

Representatives at the meeting also called for open markets to be maintained in view of the economic recession and the Doha Round to be completed as early as possible. Each government should keep its promise to remove investment and trade obstacles and consolidate a global multilateral trade system.

The Cairns Group is an unofficial coalition made up of 15 countries that was founded in Cairns, Australia in 1986. During the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations, the Cairns Group served as a strong coalition to demand the elimination of trade barriers and the stable reduction of agricultural trade subsidies. Its members include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Paraguay, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and Uruguay.