World Leaders Fear Protectionism

(31 Jan 09 - RV) World leaders looking for hope amid recessionary gloom turned their attention today to a long-stalled global trade deal, increasingly seen as a necessary bulwark against the rising threat of protectionism. Trade negotiators from about 20 countries were meeting on the sidelines of the forum to discuss ways to advance the eight-year Doha round of trade talks. Meanwhile, top CEOs and politicians at the meeting in Davos beseeched the new U.S. administration to shun protectionism and avoid the divisive trade policies like those that pushed the world deeper into the Great Depression.