Doha is dead as a doornail, many experts have long proclaimed, while others have said rumors of its death have been greatly exaggerated. One thing is certain: The ninth round of multilateral trade negotiations, known as the Doha Round, is sputtering into its tenth year with an uncertain future.
On May 10, Devex members gathered with Foreign Affairs subscribers and Council on Foreign Relations members for a debate on a provocative issue in international development today: the role of the World Trade Organization in leveling the playing field for developing markets. Former U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and Center for Global Development President Nancy Birdsall discussed implications for international development; Foreign Affairs Editor Gideon Rose moderated.
Schwab and Birdsall agreed that the multilateral trade negotiations were especially stalled as the United States receded from a leadership role, beleaguered by fiscal debt and unemployment. Schwab lamented that other developed and emerging market countries “are terribly self-absorbed” and have not stepped up to contribute to addressing the Doha agenda issues. Birdsall noted, however, that the United States was the one country which “put the kibosh” on the Millennium Development Goals, urging advanced and emerging countries to provide duty-free, quota-free access for the least developed countries.
“Where’s the sense of outrage from the NGO community?” asked one audience member, noting the conspicuous absence of trade issues from the top of the development agenda.
Birdsall agreed that it would “be great if we could get Bono or Bob Geldoff onto this agenda.” Schwab noted that after ten years, “there’s a Doha fatigue and people have walked away.”
The audience also raised questions about the effect of the Arab Spring on trade, the viability of a financial transaction tax, and whether Most Favored Nation agreements might incentivize less-needy emerging markets to give up distorting trade preferences.
The discussion ended on a positive note, as Birdsall cited declining inequality and poverty in some developing markets due to better leadership in conjunction with a focus on free trade.
“Things are getting better. They may be getting better faster for certain strata,” agreed Schwab. “But hundreds of millions of people have benefited from opening markets.”
The discussion on trade policy and the future of international development was held at the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., as part of Foreign Affairs LIVE, an event series that brings together the magazine’s writers and readers with leading experts for in-depth, timely discussions about world events. Devex served as a media partner.
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Read “After Doha” by Susan Schwab and “The Post-Washington Consensus” by Nancy Birdsall and Francis Fukuyama, two recent contributions to Foreign Affairs.
About the author
Lynda Hammes
As deputy publisher and director of digital strategy, Lynda stewards business operations of the Foreign Affairs magazine and website. Her favorite article from the archives is Robert Sapolsky's on what primatology can tell us about war and peace.
