The financial market upheaval caused by the hurricane has not had a significant impact on trade flows yet. The lack of regulation in the financial sector, which has been blamed for the recent crisis, is prompting calls for stronger trade rules to be established through a new trade agreement. China's deputy ambassador to the World Trade Organisation, Xiang Zhang, believes that concluding negotiations for a new trade deal would send a positive message to the global economy and business community. On the other hand, failing to reach an agreement after seven years of talks could result in a loss of confidence in business. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy is still aiming to reach a preliminary deal on agriculture and industrial goods by the end of the year in the ongoing Doha round, despite a lack of progress in July. Both Lamy and EU trade chief Peter Mandelson expressed concern last week that the financial crisis could lead to an increase in protectionism, which would negatively impact economic growth. This makes it even more urgent to establish a new trade agreement to secure the benefits of globalization. The crisis may also divert the attention of world leaders away from trade issues. The potential approval of a $700 billion bailout for the U.S. financial industry could help alleviate some of these concerns. However, any trade deal would not be finalized until well into 2009 or 2010 at the earliest, and would not have an immediate impact on trade flows due to implementation periods of up to 5 years for rich countries and 17 years for developing nations. This delayed economic effect would also suggest that there would not be an immediate impact on financial markets, as changes in exchange rates or company earnings would only be seen later. Experts believe that reaching a deal would increase business confidence by demonstrating a reduction in barriers to business, a healthy world trading system, and the ability of the international community to collaborate on global issues. Current WTO agreements prevent countries from significantly increasing tariffs, according to Fredrik Erixon, who heads the Brussels trade policy think-tank ECIPE. He is optimistic that history will not repeat itself with a return to economic nationalism in response to a financial crisis. However, the likelihood of a new trade agreement expanding markets is uncertain given the current criticism of deregulation and liberalization, particularly from French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck. This skepticism could hinder the liberalization of trade in financial services during negotiations. However, during a meeting in July, governments indicated a willingness to open up markets to various services despite the credit crunch not affecting negotiations on banking. John Cooke, the chairman of the Liberalisation of Trade in Services Committee, emphasized the distinction between market access in trade negotiations and financial contagion overseen by regulators. He stressed that as globalisation continues, with increased trade and investment, there will be more interdependencies between different economies, necessitating financing. Trade rounds not only focus on liberalising commerce but also on establishing fair rules for the international trading system. In the current Doha round, developing countries are pushing for a reduction in rich nations' agricultural subsidies, which artificially lower prices and harm farmers in poor countries. Munir Ahmed, secretary-general of the International Textiles and Clothing Bureau, likened these subsidies to short-selling in the financial market. He emphasized that a failed Doha round would result in missed opportunities to regulate various aspects of international trade. Ahmed, a former Pakistani ambassador to the WTO, highlighted the added urgency for a Doha deal in light of the financial crisis, which serves as a reminder that economic prosperity is not permanent. With the recent growth in business, many companies have not been pushing for trade rule reforms to prevent protectionism from resurging. As a result, there has been less aggressive lobbying for a deal compared to previous rounds, leading governments to feel less pressure to finalize an agreement. This could potentially result in the reversal of unilateral tariff and subsidy cuts that have been implemented. New Zealand's WTO ambassador, Crawford Falconer, believes that reducing entitlements is crucial to prevent regression in the financial world. He emphasizes the urgency of completing trade negotiations now more than ever.