WTO Scrambles to Salvage Doha Talks |
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June 12, 2011
The gradual realisation at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva that the so-called “Doha round” of global trade talks has drifted on to the rocks has led to a scramble to salvage something from the wreck.
The gradual realisation at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva that the so-called “Doha round” of global trade talks has drifted on to the rocks has led to a scramble to salvage something from the wreck. But even a plan for a simple standalone agreement to give more trade privileges to the world’s poorest countries has started to founder on a similar clash of interests to that which brought the round itself to a halt. Two weeks ago Pascal Lamy, WTO director-general, proposed an “early harvest” package that could be agreed upon by a ministerial meeting in December. It would extend complete duty-free quota-free trade access to the rich world’s markets for exports from the least developed countries, the world’s 49 poorest nations, and make progress in reducing cotton subsidies.
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