What Future for the WTO?

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In The Media

What Future for the WTO?

The widespread belief that negotiators must reach a deal soon in order to save the Doha Round and prevent irreparable harm to world trade and the WTO itself is not accurate. It will take great time and effort to bridge the wide gaps that still exist in the agriculture and manufacturing talks, but the final result is well worth the wait.

By Ms. Sandra Polaski

Published on Jul 1, 2007

Source: L'Économie politique

In a new article in the French journal L’Économie politique, Carnegie Senior Associate Sandra Polaski refutes the widespread belief that negotiators must reach a deal soon in order to save the Doha Round and prevent irreparable harm to world trade and the WTO itself. It will take great time and effort to bridge the wide gaps which still exist in the agriculture and manufacturing talks, but the final result – a trade agreement which addresses employment concerns and produces real gains for countries at all levels of development – is well worth the wait. In the meantime, the WTO will continue to function under the rules negotiated in previous rounds, overseeing the persistent expansion of global trade.

About the Author

Ms. Sandra Polaski

Former Senior Associate, Director, Trade, Equity and Development Program

Until April 2002, Polaski served as the U.S. Secretary of State’s Special Representative for International Labor Affairs, the senior State Department official dealing with such matters.

Recent Work

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Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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What Future for the WTO?

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“Involution” is a new word for an old problem, and without a very different set of policies to rein it in, it is a problem that is likely to persist.

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While China's investment story seems contradictory from the outside, the real answers to Beijing's high-quality growth ambitions are hiding in plain sight across the nation's cities.

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