Leaders from the Group of 20 (G20) developed and emerging economies are expected to agree on a US$250-billion plan to support global trade, British finance minister Alistair Darling said on Thursday.
"I think we are going to agree to increase the amount of trade guarantees by about 250 billion dollars. That will be a big help because the world trade is stalled at the moment," Darling, whose official title is Chancellor of the Exchequer, said in an interview with British Broadcasting Company on the sidelines of the G20 summit in London.
"For recovery to happen, we need world trade to be going on," he said, adding it was an indication that the G20 leaders are determined to act together.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had proposed to set up a fund worth 100 billion U.S. dollar for trade finance, which would be used to help countries which want to export but are held back due to payment constraints.
Darling said there is a clear indication that G20 members will not repeat historical mistake in the 1930s by imposing trade barriers in economic downturn, which will only make the situation even worse.
"We cannot allow that to happen again," Darling said. "But it does mean we got to be ready to take action whenever we see protectionism."
(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2009)
