Rough Road Ahead for Free Trade
Abstract:
The Doha Round negotiations remain stalled. Neither the United States nor European Union (EU) appears eager to jump-start them. This is a pity. Considerable progress has been made since the launch of the round in 2001.
At the Cancun ministerial meeting in 2003, contentious Singapore issues, investment, government procurement and competition policy — were removed from the negotiating table. At the Hong Kong ministerial in 2005, the EU agreed to eliminate export subsidies by 2013 as a part of an eventual overall Doha agreement. The member countries also agreed to address the major concerns of the Least Developed Countries.