Exporters Struggle to Get Trade Loans - WTO's Lamy |
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July 2, 2009
Exporters are struggling to get the loans they need to ship their goods, the head of the World Trade Organisation said ahead of a high-level meeting on poor countries' aid-for-trade needs.
Exporters are struggling to get the loans they need to ship their goods, the head of the World Trade Organisation said ahead of a high-level meeting on poor countries' aid-for-trade needs.
"Anecdotal evidence shows that the global market situation remains tense, with increased payment defaults and high costs of credit," WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said in a report on protectionism whose main findings were made public on Thursday.
Interventions from the Brazilian, Indian and Chinese central banks and governments have stabilised trade finance costs that shot up during the credit crunch, Lamy said, estimating their local spreads are now 150-200 basis points above policy rates.
"In other areas of the world the situation has not improved," he said in the report, which will inform discussion at a July 6-7 WTO meeting involving the heads of major regional lenders and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
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