While Barack Obama did not discuss on various protectionist measures during his India visit, Pascal Lamy, director general of World Trade Organisation, feels it would worsen the situation.

“The macro-economic imbalances do not originate in trade. Addressing them through trade restricting measures will not work. Worse, it will trigger tit-for-tat protectionism,” he said.

Further, as Doha negotiations enter into final round, Lamy feels that the question ahead is how to supplement what negotiators have already put on table, with new give and take in order to build a final package.

According to Lamy, for a sustainable global recovery, there is a need for coordinated policy action across countries, which would lead to a progressive reduction of these global imbalances and to a greater number of jobs. Lamy was delivering an address on ‘WTO and Doha Negotiations: Closing the Gaps and Moving Ahead’, organized by FICCI.

However, industry experts feels that successful conclusion of Doha negotiation is essential for reasons other than just trade barriers.

"Failure to revive our technical differences will be a major blow to multilateral institution and therefore there is a need for successful conclusion of Doha negotiations," commerce secretary Rahul Khullar added.