Reconsidering Doha’s foundations to save the Round

While the recent Pittsburgh G-20 Summit resolved once again to conclude the Doha Round in 2010, certain pessimism seems to be spreading among negotiators. “I am very pessimistic regarding the future of the Doha Round” recently admitted the French Under Secretary for Foreign Trade, mentioning both the United States’ and European “cold feet“ attitude. According to the French Government official, it is even “a little too late” to reach an agreement in Geneva.1

Of course, the new American Administration’s lack of involvement is probably a significant cause of the stalemate of negotiations, but it nevertheless reveals increasingly shared doubts on the very legitimacy of the Doha Round: If the talks have not been concluded during the past eight years2, it may precisely be because the economic and social consequences of the Round still remain uncertain.

Regarding agriculture in particular, and as stated by Oliver de Schutter during the WTO Public Forum, one cannot but think that unfettered trade liberalization threatens global food security… And if the goal of fighting protectionist withdrawal is praiseworthy, it cannot be achieved at the expense of global food security.

Paradoxically, the only way to save the Doha Round from permanent stalemate is still to reconsider the foundations on which it is based. Whether Pascal Lamy likes it or not…

1 As quoted by Agrapresse on October 12, 2009 “The 2010 deadline is jeopardized”.
2 The Doha Round was launched in November 2001.