Countries should not resort to protectionist measures to tackle unemployment amid the economic downturn, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Friday.

"Protectionism was the road that exacerbated the 1930s' Great Depression," Zoellick told a press conference on the sidelines of the second meeting of the Americas and Caribbean finance ministers in the Chilean resort town of Vina del Mar.

He said the protectionist measures at the moment were only "a mild fever," but "we have to be aware of the danger of its becoming influenza."

He said a World Trade Organization report published this week showed increasing trade restrictions, which are putting obstacles in the way of development.

He said ministers at the meeting agreed that unemployment would keep rising even when the crisis begins to recede, "because it is a trailing indicator."

"Unemployment puts pressure on governments to take measures and nations try to persuade consumers to buy their own products with campaigns like 'Buy American' and 'Buy Chilean'," he said.

The meeting was aimed at seeking measures to mitigate the impact of the global financial crisis in the region.

Participants included representatives from more than 30 nations in the Americas and Caribbean region.

(Xinhua News Agency July 4, 2009)