G20 Leaders Reach Agreements on Open Markets, Deficit Cut

Leaders of the G20 countries on Sunday agreed to fight against trade protectionism, and push ahead businesses and investments.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

"Open markets play a pivotal role in supporting growth and job creation, and in achieving our goals under the G20 Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth," said a final document adopted by the G20 leaders during their fourth summit in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Toronto, Canada.

The G20 leaders said that they are committed to refrain from raising barriers or imposing new barriers to investment or trade in goods and services until the end of 2013, a renewal of further three years.

They also reiterated their support for bringing the WTO Doha Development Round to a balanced and ambitious conclusion, saying they will use "all negotiating avenues" to "pursue this objective, and to report on progress at our next meeting in Seoul, where we will discuss the status of the negotiations and the way forward."

The adjustments of fiscal polices in some main economies, said the final document, would also somehow affect the global recovery.

Leaders of the United States, Britain, France and Canada pledged to cut deficits as part of the efforts to pull out the countries from ravaging European debt crisis.

"Advanced economies have committed to fiscal plans that will at least halve deficits by 2013 and stabilize or reduce government debt-to-GDP ratios by 2016," said the final document.