Negotiators in Geneva clinch historic deal

The World Trade Organization early today signed a landmark agreement on global financial services liberalization, WTO director general Renato Ruggiero said in Geneva, Switzerland. "We have done it," Ruggiero told reporters as he went into a meeting of WTO negotiators to formally seal the deal.

"We have made an historic deal," he said. "This is a golden year for the international trading system.

The accord hammered out in the 132-member WTO covers banking, insurance, asset management and brokerage, industries whose revenues run into the trillions of dollars.

Washington, whose backing was essential for a pact, held out until the last minute and beyond, pushing negotiations an hour past a midnight Friday deadline in a bid to work out final details.

The United States had problems with the Malaysian offer, and there were also last minute problems with the exact wording of a deal to extend to other countries an existing Japanese bilateral insurance agreement with Washington.

The US financial services industry refused to support a WTO agreement in 1995 but insurers and bankers threw their weight behind a deal this time around.

The European Union fought hard for a comprehensive agreement, determined to avoid a repeat performance two years ago when it played a "white knight" role in salvaging an interim agreement.

The size of the financial services sector has exploded in the last decade. An estimated $1.2 trillion is traded daily in the foreign exchange markets and total banking assets are estimated at $20 trillion, insurance premiums at $2 trillion and stock market capitalization at more than $10 trillion. The pact will be a tremendous instrument for growth and development, Ruggiero said.

Sir Leon Brittan for the European Union, and United States officials confirmed the deal was completed.

The pact would put the multibillion-pound financial services sector, the world's fastest-growing industry, under WTO rules, meaning countries which broke open market commitments made in the talks could be brought before its dispute settlement system.