Another trade meeting, another lost opportunity

Dec 2nd, 2009 7:58 PM UTC
By Mikiko Imai

This week, the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 153 members gathered in Geneva for a 3-day ministerial conference. While the Doha negotiations—trade talks launched in 2001 to try make trade rules fairer for poor countries—didn’t make it onto the official agenda, they were certainly on everyone’s mind. Prior to the meeting, developing countries had insisted that in order for the Doha Round to conclude by 2010, political statements must start turning into concrete engagements. But the meeting failed to make any real progress, ending with delegates merely reiterating that trade and the Doha Round were important to economic recovery and poverty reduction in poor countries across the globe.

But there were a few small signs of hope. There was wide recognition that to increase trade in developing countries, the focus should be on more than just increased market access. Delegates also stressed the importance of increased aid for trade, capacity-building, and the need for continued monitoring of these commitments to help generate real, sustainable results.

In related news, a group of 20 developing countries ranging from Nigeria, Zimbabwe to South Korea concluded an unprecedented market access agreement that would make over 70 percent of their tariff lines duty-free. Some have called this agreement a “watershed” moment for South-South trade.

TAGS: Policy News, Trade