Where will Kirk take the Doha entreprise?
Australia's Trade Minister, Simon Crean, is doggedly faithful to the Doha round. He has recently visited Ron Kirk, the new US Trade representative. No doubt, to gee him up.
But the peak United States industry groups have it right in their letter to the new US President. There cannot be an ambitious outcome in WTO negotiations unless there is substantial degree reciprocity from those developing countries who seek to shape the outcome to their advantage—especially India, Indonesia, China and South Africa (Brazil has been more forthcoming).
Assuming that USTR Kirk will listen careful to their advice, I'm led to agree with Claude Barfield's conclusion:
"[Whether] one considers the Doha state of play ‘pitiful’ or merely a reflection of political realities, it doesn’t look as though an endgame is possible anytime soon." Extract from Claude Barfield's artice on Vox EU
I think we need two things: a means of bringing Doha to a face-saving end (another point of agreement with CB) and another means of allowing countries that have made the choice for open markets to pursue the growth rewards.
Posted on 04/15 at 11:05 PM.
Your comments