Director-General Pascal Lamy, in a speech to the German Engineering Federation Summit in Berlin
13 October 2009
said that:
“Germany and other countries in the Euro Area are experiencing large deficits and an increase in government debt ratios. Fiscal “exit strategies” aimed at avoiding ballooning public debt must rely on a combination of fiscal consolidation that is, running a primary surplus, and sustained growth in GDP.
Achieving fiscal consolidation in times of economic hardship is not easy given the presence of automatic stabilizers such as unemployment benefits and the reduced tax revenues. Achieving sustained economic growth is no easier. Economic growth can only be maintained by steady productivity increases.
A successful conclusion of the Doha Round can yield a double dividend.
On the one hand, the Doha Round can play the role of a global stimulus package.
On the other hand, the Doha Round can effectively act as a structural reform package.
It is the most effective way of further constraining protectionist pressures and fostering a political economy dynamics.”
