Breakthrough at Bali? Explanations, Aftermath, Implications

Abstract

The World Trade Organization’s (wto) Ministerial Conference at Bali in December 2013 seemed to have marked a landmark moment in the history of the negotiations of the Doha Development Agenda (dda). This article begins with a brief analysis of why theddahas been quagmired in deadlocks and become the longest running trade round in the history of the multilateral trading system. It then discusses the significance of what was achieved at the Bali Ministerial in light of repeated failures and particularly from the perspective of the world’s poorest countries. It explains why and how breakthroughs were achieved and highlights several important institutional innovations. Lastly, it discusses how sustainable these innovations might be.