Report
- +4
Ms. Sandra Polaski, Joaquim Bento de Souza Ferreir, Janine Berg, …
{
"authors": [
"Sandra Polaski"
],
"type": "other",
"centerAffiliationAll": "",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "",
"programs": [],
"projects": [],
"regions": [],
"topics": [
"Economy",
"Trade"
]
}
REQUIRED IMAGE
Other
The Future of the WTO
The WTO needs clear-sighted leadership, acknowledgment of global job anxiety, and a commitment to address the needs of the growing number of developing nations in the organization.
Published on Sep 6, 2006
Source: Carnegie Endowment
The suspension of Doha Round in late July caused global concern that the international trade talks will permanently collapse. However, in a new Policy Outlook, The Future of the WTO, the Carnegie Endowment’s Sandra Polaski argues that such fears are unfounded. In fact, the collapse of the talks provides a much-needed opportunity to rethink the negotiations and resume them on a better tack. The Policy Outlook analyzes the causes of the recent failure and the political climate. It identifies key objectives that must be addressed when talks resume.
Polaski, director of the Carnegie Endowment’s Trade, Equity, and Development Project, argues that although the immediate cause of the collapse was disagreement on agricultural trade between the U.S. and the EU, other problematic issues would have halted the talks as they continued. The main issue facing the Doha Round—which has not yet been confronted—is global employment. Until a trade deal is found that allows countries to manage the job destruction that trade expansion will cause while presenting better prospects for strong job creation, there will be no agreement on a new trade regime.
The suspension of talks is causing undue alarm, Polaski argues. The current round of trade negotiations has been underway for only four and a half years; it took nearly twice that time for the previous round of talks to conclude. There is plenty of room for world trade to expand under the existing rules. The only sense of crisis comes from setting unrealistic deadlines that the WTO is unable to reach, creating a false sense of failure. Polaski argues that what the WTO needs most now is clear-sighted leadership, acknowledgement of global job anxiety, and a commitment to address the needs of the growing number of developing nations in the WTO.
About the Author
Sandra Polaski is senior associate and director of the Trade, Equity, and Development Project at the Carnegie Endowment. She served as the U.S. Secretary of State’s special representative for international labor affairs from 1999–2002. She has written extensively on trade, development and employment.
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.
- Brazil in the Global Economy: Measuring the Gains From Trade
- One Cheer for Global Trade TalksArticle
Ms. Sandra Polaski
Recent Work
More Work from Carnegie Europe
- A Grand Strategy for Europe’s Clean Industrial FuturePaper
Europe’s industrial supply chains leave it vulnerable to global shocks. The EU needs a pragmatic green industrial strategy that balances durable partnerships and bolsters homegrown clean tech without sacrificing low-carbon ambition.
Milo McBride, Pauline Gerard
- From Trade Dependence to Geopolitical Leverage: The EU in an Era of Weaponized InterdependencePaper
As geopolitical rivalry weaponizes global supply chains, the EU’s true vulnerability lies in emerging-risk imports. For these goods, suppliers are growing more concentrated, substitution more difficult, and political risk is looming.
Sinan Ülgen
- European Security Strategy: In Search of a New AmbitionCommentary
The EU is putting together a new security strategy to meet today’s myriad challenges. But for any proposal to be effective, the union needs to grapple with its identity and ambitions.
Pierre Vimont
- Can Europe Compete with the United States and China?Commentary
Between the United States’ market-driven approach and China's state-led industrial strategy, Europe is reckoning with how it can remain competitive in the global economy. But is Europe in danger of becoming a U.S. or China colony?
Noah Barkin, Anu Bradford
- The EU Equivocating on Turkey Is Bad GeopoliticsCommentary
Following Ursula von der Leyen’s gaffe equating Turkey to Russia and China, relations with Ankara risk deteriorating even further. Without better, more consistent diplomatic messaging, how can the EU pretend to be a geopolitical power?
Sinan Ülgen
