Business | Economy
What's at stake for the major players?
The talks, named after Qatar's capital in which they were launched in 2001, are broad-ranging negotiations to liberalise trade in agriculture, industrial goods and services among the World Trade Organisation's 153 member countries.
- By Alan Beattie, Financial Times
- Published: 00:02 July 31, 2008
So what exactly is the Doha round?
The talks, named after Qatar's capital in which they were launched in 2001, are broad-ranging negotiations to liberalise trade in agriculture, industrial goods and services among the World Trade Organisation's 153 member countries. They also cover smaller issues such as tightening rules under which trade is conducted and making it easier for exporters to get goods across borders.
Why did it break down?
Fundamentally, the same problems that have bedevilled the talks for years: the desire of some emerging market countries, particularly India and China, to retain the right to protect farmers and manufacturers they say are vulnerable to competition. On the other side, the US - and to some extent the European Union - have demanded access to those markets in return for cutting their own support for farmers. A trade-off could not be agreed.
So it's just a rich versus poor thing?
No. The developing world is split on some of these issues. Highly efficient agricultural exporters such as Brazil and Uruguay also want access to farm markets in countries such as India, but tend to be less vocal about it than the US.
What happens now?
Some officials said they would come back in the autumn. But with the US election approaching, it seems unlikely a substantial meeting could take place before a new president enters the White House.
Would a successful deal make much difference?
Not much immediately. Most estimates of the impact of a Doha agreement on the global economy are in the order of $100 billion, or about 0.1 per cent. And as the poorest countries already have special access to the rich world's markets, the value of which would be reduced by a general cut in import tariffs, they might lose out as a result of a deal.
Why so little effect?
WTO negotiations cover the "bound rates" - the legal maximum to which countries can raise their import tariffs or farm subsidies - rather than the "applied rates" they are actually using. The gap is known as "water".
So why bother signing it?
One good reason is as an insurance policy. Agreeing new "bound rate" ceilings for tariffs stops them being raised suddenly, thus reducing the risk that the world could slide back into the kind of tit-for-tat protectionism that it saw in the 1930s.
Share this article
Related Articles
More from Economy
More from Business
Popular in Business
-
XPRESS
Way to go this DSF
A fun-filled route to guide you to all the happening dos in town
Business Editor's choice
-
Hamdan opens interior design expo
Index 2009 will feature 1,000 exhibitors from 47 nations
-
Marina Residence handovers begin
Despite talk of oversupply, Palm Jumeirah's latest apartments come online.
-
Travel insurance offers peace of mind
The wisest thing to do is to take out travel insurance before you leave.
