Brief Analysis of the Failure of the Doha Development Round

Abstract

The collapse of the Doha round of the World Trade Organization has struck at the very root of the organization, therefore raising doubts over its credibility. The credibility of the World Trade Organization has taken a steep nosedive. Two out of five rounds of negotiations have failed since GATT has replaced WTO. There have been mixed response from various sectors of the economy. Pierre Simon, President of the Euro Chambers has mentioned that, “Doha is good for European business and for European SMEs: more sustainable markets and more predictable rules. A failure of this round can jeopardize 60 years of global economic integration. Which political leader would take that responsibility”. The issue of Intellectual Property Rights is a very delicate issue. The technological advancement of the developing and least developed countries (LCD’s) is dependent on this particular issue. Therefore, it is the need of the hour that the developed countries under the auspices of the World Trade Organization, should take some concrete steps so that the interests of theses booming economies are not harmed. These countries can gain not much but if are neglected will loose everything.There will be very cost which has to be burdened by the poor and the developing countries if the decision is taken to install the infrastructure for enforcing the IPR rules and agreements. The early wrapping up of the Doha round is possible if U.S. farm bill is successfully implemented. The United States took some steps for the domestic agricultural policy reform and global agricultural trade liberalisation during the period of 1980-1990. But, now the U.S. should make some concessions so that the deadlock can be broken and progress can be made . In the Doha development round it was for the first time in the history of the multilateral trade negotiations that the environmental negotiations were included. The civil societies and various human organizations have toiled hard for it . Their call for a toning relation between environment and the trade has ultimately been answered. The Ministers promised to remove the subsidies on harmful fisheries and also to open trade in the areas that include services and goods causative for environmental protection.The Doha Ministerial Round Negotiation was like a roller coaster ride. It has seen many ups and downs. But, the hopes are still alive and we should adopt the policy of wait and watch because the Doha round has still got potential to solve the burning issues, which the world is facing today.The Words of Ernest Antoine Seilliere, the President of BUSINESSEUROPE can sum up the importance of appropriate conclusion of the Doha round in following words, “An ambitious conclusion to the Doha round is crucial for business for Europe. From all areas of the economy - large scale industry, service businesses of all types and small and medium sized companies”.