Dire warning on trade

Agence France-Presse

The group - which also includes South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey - issued the emergency statement at the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Japanese foreign ministry official Akihiro Okochi said. "Given the unprecedented economic crisis and potential rise in protectionist sentiment, WTO members need to be aware of a possible increase in anti-dumping actions and to avoid the unwarranted use of such measures," the statement said.

Among recent policies to have been criticized as protectionist are French President Nicolas Sarkozy's suggestion of government help to its auto industry to keep factories at home, and a "Buy America" clause in a U.S. stimulus plan, which has since been watered down. Other nations or territories signing the statement last week in Geneva were Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Israel, Mexico, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland and Thailand, the official said.

The 15 are known as the "anti-dumping friends," as they are pressing the United States to change its method of calculating anti-dumping duties which they see as skewed to protect domestic products. Negotiations over rules of trade - including anti-dumping measures and subsidies - are part of the Doha Round of multilateral trade talks which started in the Qatari capital of Doha in 2001.The round has been deadlocked mostly due to disagreements between rich and developing nations over agriculture.