World trade will grow 10 percent this year, says WTO chief

Global trade is on course to hit 10 percent growth this year, said World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy on Monday.

Lamy's statement marks a remarkable turnaround in global trade which hit rock bottom in 2009 with a 12 percent drop. He said the surge in global trade will be powered by robust growth in Asia.

Lamy said the fact that trade remained largely open around the globe contributed significantly to the turnaround. "Trade is roughly as open today as it was at the beginning of this crisis," he said, crediting this year's strength to "the fact that trade has remained open," he said.

Fears of trade protectionism were flying high in the immediate aftermath of the onset of global recession, and protectionist measures by various countries had caused a lull in trade activity last year.

Saying that this risk has diminished, Lamy said the risks for the global economy are on the "downside rather than on the upside" currently.

The WTO chief had said last week in Paris that the world had come out of global recession.

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Airing an upbeat outlook on global trade and economic recovery, Lamy also said G20 leaders strive to conclude the Doha round of trade talks.

"They will all have to give a bit more in order to conclude the round, not much more, but a bit more," he said.
Lamy said he expected the Doha round talks to be completed by 2011.

According to WTO figures released last week, the value of world merchandise trade shot up by about 25 percent during the first half of this year over the same period in 2009.