Doha, Dohalf, or Dohaha? The WTO licks its wounds

2006

… hosted by the …, 2007

The authors are grateful to Simon Mevel for the insightful comments and suggestions he offered for ... The suspension of the Doha round of trade negotiations in July 2006 followed by the most ... It remains to be seen whether that will happen with the Doha Round as the world waits ...

Summary Negotiations in the international realm of high politics is often laced with unwavering national interests, preconceived agendas and unflinching positions. But as the world continues to become increasingly interdependent in almost every manner conceivable, one has seen the static positions of nation states forced to concede and adapt. Negotiations often include common interests and conflicts over those same interests. Successful negotiations employ the use of principles over positions, peoples over problems, mutual gains over zero sum conditions and good faith over skullduggery- This is the embodiment of Principled Negotiations by Fisher and Ury. The concepts and issues involved in the Doha Round are discussed under this model whilst highlighting where negotiations faltered. Implications and recommendations are made for this round and further rounds of negotiations in the future.

We must defend multilateralism in all areas" 2 I. Abstract The Doha negotiation round of WTO reposes on the negotiation table forseventeen years devoid ofan efficaciousfruition. It is maladroit to wind up the negotiation due to logjams of the multilateral negotiating parties. Among other things, disparities on market access to agriculture, elimination of export and domestic subsidies on agriculture and services caused perpetual negotiation of the Doha Round. Such incongruencescraftan impasse which glooms the multilateralism of the global trade. The Author clinches that the WTO's need to transform from Doha agendas to other new agendas without triumphing an agreement on the existing agenda placedthe future of multilateralism under question.

The Doha negotiation round of WTO reposes on the negotiation table forseventeen years devoid ofan efficaciousfruition. It is maladroit to wind up the negotiation due to logjams of the multilateral negotiating parties. Among other things, disparities on market access to agriculture, elimination of export and domestic subsidies on agriculture and services caused perpetual negotiation of the Doha Round. Such incongruencescraftan impasse which glooms the multilateralism of the global trade. The Author clinches that the WTO’s need to transform from Doha agendas to other new agendas without triumphing an agreement on the existing agenda placedthe future of multilateralism under question.

2003

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The Political Quarterly, 2012

Transnational Corporations Review, 2012

The Doha Development Round (DDR) has been in the doldrums for more than 10 years. Trade negotiations are at a standstill , resulting in a revival of trade protectionism and preferential agreements in the name of 'new regionalism.' This leads to a dismantling of the multilateral trading system. The World Trade Organization (WTO) was created for the very purpose of increasing multilateral trade in 1995. It is vital to preserve gains from the world trade. The success of multilateral trading system relies in part on the completion of the DDR. The concepts and practices of free trade are at risk of being reduced in favor of trade protectionism and new regionalism. If it happens, then the future of global trade is uncertain. Such an occurrence would result in a major loss of economic potential, which no country can afford. Doha is stuck. Where do we go from here? This paper discusses the issues relating to the closure vs. success of the DDR.

The European Journal of Development Research, 2010

This article offers an account and analysis of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) 7th Ministerial Conference-a meeting that, although 'successfully' concluded, failed to address a series of key issues in the increasingly moribund Doha Round of trade negotiations. We begin with an account of the meeting that offers an insight into the 'colour' of these biennial gatherings. The article then identifies and explores the primary consequences of pursuing an agenda designed not to focus on the core issues in the Doha Round but instead to ensure that the meeting is a 'success'. Here we draw attention to the increasingly problematic nature of the Round's 'development' content, the thorny issue of agricultural liberalization and the problems posed for developing countries when their industrial counterparts pursue trade objectives through regional and bilateral means. In the concluding section, we consider the way forward for both the Doha Round and the WTO as an institution. Cet essai invite´offre un compte-rendu et une analyse de la 7e`me confe´rence ministe´rielle de l 0 Organisation mondiale du commerce, une re´union qui, bien qu'ayant e´te´formellement conclue de manie`re) satisfaisante *, n 0 a pas aborde´les questions cle´s associe´es aux ne´gociations commerciales du Cycle-de plus en plus moribond-de Doha. Nous commenc¸ons avec une description de la re´union meˆme, afin de donner une ide´e de la tonalite´de ces rassemblements bisannuels. Nous identifions et explorons ensuite les conse´quences du fait que la confe´rence ait poursuivi un ordre du jour qui n 0 avait pas pour but de se pencher sur les questions fondamentales du Cycle de Doha, mais plutoˆt d 0 assurer que la re´union serait un) succe`s *. Nous poursuivons notre analyse en attirant l 0 attention sur la nature de plus en plus proble´matique du contenu des ne´gociations du Cycle de Doha, le proble`me e´pineux de la libe´ralisation agricole et les proble`mes rencontre´s par les pays en voie de de´veloppement quand leurs partenaires industriels poursuivent des objectifs commerciaux par des moyens re´gionaux et bilate´raux. En guise de conclusion, nous conside´rons le futur du Cycle de Doha ainsi que de l 0 OMC en tant qu 0 institution.

2007

The World Trade Organization's Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations, named because it originated in the capital of Qatar, has collapsed as of this writing. Negotiators have been unable to reach agreement in the face of repeatedly missed deadlines. Despite this stalemate, many believe that negotiations may be revived.

2000

In this study the key elements of the WTO Doha round are simulated and the main im- plications for international trade and national income are analysed. Based on negotiation positions at the recent Hong Kong ministerial conference, a number of Doha scenarios are carefully designed and implemented. All scenarios encompass goods, services and agricultural liberalisation as well as trade facilitation.

World Trade Review, 2010

This study presents scenarios where countries decide to increase current tariff rates to protect domestic industries or raise revenues in order to finance domestic programs. Using the highest applied or bound rate imposed by countries during the period from 1995-2008 as an indicator, it offers new conclusions on the economic cost of a failed Doha Round. In a scenario where applied tariffs of major economies would go up all the way to currently bound tariff rates, world trade would decrease by 7.7 percent. In a more modest scenario where countries would raise tariffs to maximum rates applied over the past 13 years, world trade would decrease by 3.2 percent. These increases in duties would reduce world welfare by USD353 billion under the first scenario, by USD134 billion under the more modest scenario. This study concludes there would be a potential loss of at least USD1,064 billion in world trade if world leaders were to fail to conclude the Doha Development Round of trade negotiations in the next few weeks and were to implement subsequently protectionist policies such as observed since the end of the Uruguay Round. Another point of view is to consider the WTO agreement as an insurance scheme against potential trade wars. So we compare a resort to protectionism when the DDA is implemented with a resort to protectionism when the DDA is not implemented. The findings show that this trade agreement could prevent the potential loss of US$ 809 bn of trade and, therefore, acts as an efficient multilateral insurance scheme against the adverse consequences of trade "beggar-thyneighbour" policies.

World Trade Review, 2009

This section is intended for occasional contributions from on-the-ground practitioners in Geneva and national capitals. Our hope is that this category will inspire other practitioners to submit notes and articles-typically in the range of 2,000 to 10,000 words-to the World Trade Review. As with all notes and articles submitted to the World Trade Review, manuscripts in this category will be reviewed by independent referees. However, the focus is intended to be practice oriented and at least one of the two referees will be a fellow practitioner.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

... Under a scenario where applied tariffs of major economies increase up to the currently bound tariff rates, we find that world trade decreases by 7.7 percent and world welfare drops by US$353bn. ... 11 and will need to be halved by 2025 to stay below the final US$16.4 bn limit. ...