the doha deadlock from the asian perspective

8/8/2019 The Doha Deadlock From the Asian Perspective

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The Doha Deadlock from the Asian Perspective

Against the backdrop of the financial crisis with national governments focused on saving their industries, and the

ominous atmosphere of the recent Davos World Economic Forum, countries are beginning to seriously question

the ability of free-market economies to provide never-ending gains, and more are inclined to turn towards trade

protectionism. This is not good news for the Doha Development Round, as it already faces difficulties with failed

negotiations, most recent in July 2008. Once again everyone is asking themselves - Will we ever come to see the

conclusion of the Doha Round of global trade negotiations?Launched in November 2001 in Qatar¶s capital city by

the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Doha Round of trade negotiations aims to reduce tariff ceilings for

agricultural and industrial goods, cap allowable farm subsidies, and liberalize trade in services. The Doha talks

have centered on two main areas of trade in farm goods and industrial products, or non-agricultural market

access (NAMA). At the time of its inception, trade ministers were determined to liberalize trade ³to promote

recovery, growth, and development.´[1] However, hope in the Doha Round was quickly diminished at the Cancun

ministerial in 2003, with talks ending much earlier than expected. Because positions remain divergent, Pascal

Lamy, Director-General of WTO decided not to call the negotiators back to the table in December last year.

On 13 February 2009, Yokohama National University (YNU), supported by United Nations University Institute of

Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS), hosted an International Symposium on the Doha Development Agenda with



leading Asian trade experts from Japan, China, India and Korea, to discuss the possibility of reviving the Doha

Round. The presentations by country representatives were followed by a panel discussion with Araki Ichiro of

YNU and Md. Khorseduzzaman of Macquarie University. The importance of maintaining a multilateral trading

system, avoiding the spiral of protectionism, and bringing confidence and political will back into the Doha Round

of negotiations was highlighted by all participants. However, many challenges lie ahead such as the current lackof a US position and there is concern that the current financial crisis has become a higher priority than

successfully completing the Doha Round.

The place of the Doha Round on the world agenda can be reestablished if key states reaffirm their commitment

to the negotiations at the London G-20 summit in April, at the OECD ministerial in June, and APEC in July.

Encouraging domestic demand through convincing industries of the benefits of WTO will also improve the

position of the Doha Round.

Suzuki Hideo from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry of Japan reiterated why Doha matters, as it has

the potential to lower tariffs in 153 countries simultaneously. This is especially important for Japan as 96% of

Japanese trade is with WTO member states. Secondly, the Doha Round can help regulate anti-dumping duties

and subsidies, which are likely to increase in the face of new protectionist measures. Thirdly, the Doha Round

can ease trade distorting effects of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) which can otherwise be difficult for developing

countries to negotiate with developed countries. Lastly, the conclusion of the Doha Round supports the credibility



and effectiveness of the WTO¶s dispute settlement process, where request for compliance is made possible

regardless of the size or influence of the member.

Hwang Soon-Taik, Minister of Economic Affairs of Korea, encouraged resuming talks based on the July agenda,

mainly addressing reforming the structure of the agricultural sector and revising the anti-dumping agreements. He

also urged the US back to the negotiation table, and that the WTO should serve as a monitoring agent to avoid

protectionism, while reiterating that Korea must stimulate its economy that inconsistent with the WTO

agreements, and certainly not through protectionism.

Biswajit Dhar of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade emphasized that agricultural development is necessary

before any agreement can be reached, especially in regards to tariffs and the special safeguard mechanism. He

raised other key Doha Round issues, such as making the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) more

operational, addressing intellectual property rights especially in regards to access to medicine and building

knowledge in developing countries, ensuring that trade rules are consistent with environmental regulations, and

reforming the functions of the dispute settlement mechanism.

Fu Xingguo, Ministry of Commerce of the People¶s Republic of China, described protectionism as a contagious

disease, which helped to break the promise of concluding the Doha Round in 2008 since countries were moving

to save their domestic industries. He encouraged reinvigorating the Doha Round for global economic revival,

although the sensitivities and difficulties are well recognized.

Trade ministers have come too close to success to allow the Doha Round to fail now, as progress has been

made over the trade negotiation¶s span of seven years. However, the renegotiation of the Doha Round is ill-timed

with the current state of the world economy and the acrimony that has plagued the talks. The July negotiationcollapse was a huge blow and puts WTO¶s credibility at risk, though Director-General Lamy has remained

relentless, successfully convening the summit in Geneva. The change in the US administration also has the

potential to affect future talks. Due to the economic outlook and the lack of political will of member states, the

world knows it will have to wait for the next round of negotiations, but for how long?

the doha deadlock from the asian perspective

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