The Doha Round

Designed as a vehicle to help developing countries, the stalled talks illustrated what many in the trade community feared following the Uruguay Round – that the WTO negotiating process was outdated and not suited to the large and divergent membership and that it was seriously in need of reform. [...] Former Hong Kong representative to the WTO and Chair of the Agriculture Negotiating Group, Stuart Harbinson explained that the case against the WTO is that it has achieved little or nothing of substance since the late 1990s. [...] Former WTO Deputy Director General, Roderick Abbott, explained: “Before and during the Uruguay Round the leaders group was the so-called ‘Quad’ - U. S., E. C., Japan, Canada - with general support from the OECD countries; but after 1995 with the establishment of the WTO, an exponential expansion of the WTO membership and the impact of globalization in the world economy things began to change…. [...] The problems plaguing the negotiations were recognized early on – but the participants were not prepared to amend the mandate – and no one was prepared to modify the clearly excessive level of ambition. [...] But, again, the draft Doha agreement doesn't do that; it doesn't really make any changes to the plans of the main susbsidisers, the USA and the EU.