The WTO and the Doha Round : Walking on Two Legs

The Doha Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations has been ongoing for 10 years, and given political cycles in major countries, there is not much hope for a rapid conclusion. The topics on the table are important, and in principle t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Hoekman, Bernard
Format:	Brief
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:	AGREEMENT ON TRADE AGRICULTURAL EXPORT SUBSIDIES AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AGRICULTURAL SUPPORT AGRICULTURAL SUPPORT POLICIES AGRICULTURAL TRADE ANTIDUMPING APPLIED TARIFF AVERAGE TARIFF AVERAGE TARIFF LEVELS AVERAGE TARIFFS BANK POLICY BARRIERS ON IMPORTS BARRIERS TO TRADE COMMODITY COMMODITY PRICE COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE COMPETITION POLICIES COMPETITION POLICY COMPETITIVENESS CONCESSIONS CONSUMERS CRITICAL MASS CURRENCY CUSTOMS DEPOSITORIES DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPING COUNTRY DISPUTE SETTLEMENT DISPUTE SETTLEMENT MECHANISM DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION DOMESTIC MARKET DOMESTIC MARKETS DOMESTIC REGULATION ECONOMIC POLICIES ECONOMIC POLICY ECONOMIC WELFARE EMERGING MARKET EMERGING MARKET COUNTRIES EMERGING MARKETS EXCHANGE RATE EXCHANGE RATES EXPENDITURES EXPORT BARRIERS EXPORT GROWTH EXPORT MARKET EXPORT RESTRICTIONS EXPORT TAXES EXPORTERS EXPORTS EXTERNALITIES FINANCIAL CRISIS FIXED COSTS FOOD PRICES FOREIGN MARKET FOREIGN MARKETS FOREIGN OWNERSHIP FOREIGN PRODUCTS FREE ACCESS GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS GLOBAL BUSINESS GLOBAL ECONOMY GLOBAL MARKETS GLOBALIZATION GOVERNMENT REVENUES GROWTH RATES HOLDING IMPORT PROTECTION IMPORT RESTRICTIONS IMPORTS INCOME INCOME GROWTH INDUSTRIAL POLICY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INSTRUMENT INSURANCE INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS INTERNATIONAL TRADE INVESTING INVESTMENT POLICIES INVESTMENT POLICY INVESTOR CONFIDENCE JOB CREATION LDCS LIBERALIZATION OF TRADE LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES MARKET ACCESS MARKET ENTRY MONETARY FUND MONETARY POLICIES MOST FAVORED NATION MULTILATERAL TRADE MULTILATERAL TRADE NEGOTIATION NATURAL RESOURCE NATURAL RESOURCES NEGATIVE SPILLOVERS NEW MARKETS NEW PRODUCTS OPENNESS OPPORTUNITY COST OPPORTUNITY COSTS PENSION PER CAPITA INCOME POLITICAL CYCLE POLITICAL CYCLES POLITICAL ECONOMY PREFERENTIAL TRADE PREFERENTIAL TRADE AGREEMENT PREFERENTIAL TRADE AGREEMENTS REAL ESTATE REAL INCOME RECIPROCITY REGULATORS REGULATORY POLICIES REGULATORY REGIMES REGULATORY SYSTEMS SMALL COUNTRIES SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS TARIFF BINDINGS TARIFF NEGOTIATIONS TARIFF RATES TELECOMMUNICATIONS TRADE AND INVESTMENT POLICIES TRADE BARRIERS TRADE COSTS TRADE FACILITATION TRADE FINANCE TRADE FLOWS TRADE IN GOODS TRADE IN SERVICES TRADE LIBERALIZATION TRADE POLICIES TRADE POLICY TRADE POLICY REVIEW TRADE POLICY REVIEW MECHANISM TRADE REGIME TRADING TRADITIONAL MARKET TRANSPARENCY UNDERESTIMATES UNDERVALUATION VALUE OF TRADE WORLD MARKETS WORLD PRICES WORLD TRADE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION WORLD TRADING SYSTEM WTO
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2011/10/15433919/wto-doha-round-walking-two-legs http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10075

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Summary:	The Doha Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations has been ongoing for 10 years, and given political cycles in major countries, there is not much hope for a rapid conclusion. The topics on the table are important, and in principle there is enough substance for all countries to gain from an agreement, but, unfortunately, too much emphasis has been placed on gains through market access alone. The Doha Round is about much more than market access. Concluding the talks arguably requires greater recognition of the value of trade policy disciplines that will be part of any agreement. The WTO is not just a market access negotiating forum; it is also a multilateral umbrella through which governments can agree on rules of the game for other trade-related policies. Given the slow progress of the Round, greater emphasis could be put on leveraging existing WTO bodies to enhance the transparency of nontariff measures, address regulatory concerns that impede liberalization of trade in services, and launch a dialogue on domestic economic policies that can create negative spillover effects for trading partners.

The WTO and the Doha Round : Walking on Two Legs

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