Washington  - The top EU and US trade officials Thursday vowed to fight protectionist trends and maintain robust trade to support global economic recovery.

The commitments were made in a joint statement from newly minted US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton. They also pledged to push for an "ambitious" outcome on the stalled Doha world trade talks.

"At a time when the temptation to turn inward, and away from the rules-based system, may be stronger than it has been in decades ... the United States and the EU must lead by example, turning outward more intelligently to strengthen the rules-based system and create new market opportunities," the officials said.

The Doha world trade talks have been stalled for years over issues of agricultural subsidies in wealthier countries and high trade barriers in developing economies.

Kirk and Ashton endorsed the recent moves at the World Trade Organization to monitor responses to the global economic downturn, and said they agreed on the "importance of achieving an ambitious and balanced outcome ... as soon as possible."

Daily trade between the EU and US is valued at 2.7 billion dollars. To keep similar trade flowing worldwide, Kirk and Ashton emphasized the importance of the G20 leading economies to "refrain from raising new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services."

They said the "extremely difficult" economic times were testing the resilience of rules-based trading that has built world prosperity.

On Wednesday, Ashton, in a private speech, criticized the US for provoking "doubts" about its commitment to open markets.

"The concern is that President (Barack) Obama may not adhere to the principles of free trade that have made the US the economic superpower it is," Ashton told the private think tank, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Considered a centrist on trade issues, Kirk has said the Obama administration would focus on enforcing existing trade deals rather than pushing through new ones during the current economic crisis.

The "buy American" clause in last month's US economic stimulus legislation set off a round of alarms in Europe over creeping US protectionist trends.

But protectionist tensions have also risen within Europe, for example, over the recent French quest for EU approval to use only French-made components in its car industry. dpa