What’s on the Table? The Doha Round as of August 2009

The Doha Round is the longest-running trade liberalization negotiation in the postwar era. Despite its longevity, the end is not yet in sight as parties disagree on the depth of liberalization necessary in agriculture and nonagricultural market access (NAMA). This rift is prolonging the Round's completion and hindering the discussion of other important issues on the negotiating agenda, particularly services. To shed light on the debate concerning the benefits from Doha, this paper first estimates, using three metrics, the potential gains from liberalization in agriculture and NAMA resulting from the specific "modalities" set forth in papers drafted by the chairs of the Doha negotiating groups. Next, the study estimates the benefits that could result from sector initiatives in chemicals, electronic/electrical goods, and environmental goods that go beyond the tariff cuts outlined in the negotiating modalities. Finally, prospective gains from liberalization of services barriers and improvements in trade facilitation are also analyzed. Overall, we estimate that the boost to global exports from concluding the Doha Round could range between $180 billion and$520 billion annually. Likewise, the potential GDP gains are significant, between $300 billion and$700 billion annually, and well balanced between developed and developing countries.International Trade, World Trade Organization, Doha Round, Tariff Liberalization, Nontariff Barrier Liberalization.International Trade, World Trade Organization, Doha Round, Tariff Liberalization, Nontariff Barrier Liberalization.

FUTURE TRADE RESEARCH AREAS THAT MATTER TO DEVELOPING COUNTRY POLICYMAKERS

This chapter focuses on the events leading up to, and the aftermath of the formal suspension of the Doha Round in July 2006.Doha Round, negotiation, WTO

Two opportunities to deliver on the Doha Development pledge:

"In this brief, we evaluate the effects of a possible Doha agreement based on proposals currently on the table from the United States, the European Union, and the Group of Twenty (G20)....[The brief presents] two development-oriented alternatives...which demonstrate that more can be accomplished in the Doha Round if these two development-oriented and pro-trade measures are used." from TextAgricultural subsidies, tariffs, Doha Developmental Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Trade reform, Protectionism, trade policies, Trade barriers, exports, International trade, Market access, MIRAGE model,

Beyond TRIPS: Why the WTO's Doha Round is Unhealthy

OA Monitor ExerciseOA Monitor ExerciseOA Monitor ExerciseThe current round of World Trade Organization (wto) negotiations—the Doha Round—has significant implications for global health which have received insufficient attention from the global health community. All too often the health implications of global trade agreements are examined only after their conclusion, and are concerned only with intellectual property rights. This paper seeks to move beyond this narrow focus and elucidate the wider health implications of the Doha Round. It explores the negative effect of the Round on state capacity to provide and regulate health services in low-income countries, and the impact it will have on livelihoods among the poor and their ability to access health services. Overall the paper makes the case for greater engagement from the health community with the wto and the Doha Round negotiations beyond the customary focus on intellectual property rights

The Competitiveness of Poland on the Environmental Products and Services Market

Poland has relatively small, but still growing position in the analyzed market. As a member of the European Union, Poland should side with an acceleration in negotiations relating to the quick opening up of environmental services markets within the framework of the Doha Round.Polska ma stosunkowo niewielką, ale rosnącą pozycję w analizowanym rynku. Jako kraj członkowski Unii Europejskiej, powinna być zainteresowana szybkim otwarciem rynku usług środowiskowych w ramach Rundy Doha

Triggers, Remedies, and Tariff Cuts: Assessing the Impact of a Special Safeguard Mechanism for Developing Countries

The WTO negotiations broke down on July 30th, 2008 because members could not bridge their differences over the operation of a Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM). This article evaluates the latest SSM proposal using the world wheat market as our case study. Whether low-income WTO members should be allowed to breach their pre-Doha bound tariffs is a key element of our analysis. The SSM leads to sizeable additional duties but is not very trade distorting, even when pre-Doha bound rates are breached. Moreover, the extent to which low-income countries should be allowed to exceed pre-Doha bound rates depends heavily on the product under consideration, the ambition of the tariff cutting exercise, and the gap between members’ bound and applied tariffs.agriculture, Doha Development Agenda, July Package, Special Safeguard Mechanism, World Trade Organization, International Relations/Trade,

The Doha Round and Kenya: Good and Not So Good Lessons

The global financial crisis and spiking unemployment figures have raised the threat of escalating barriers to trade. An early conclusion to the Doha Round might help avert some of the increase in protectionism, but no one knows by how much. And while Doha will help the world economy, it will also create winners and losers across countries and across sectors within countries (Polaski, 2006). How much developing countries can win or lose depends, to a large extent, on how the issue of agricultural subsidies in developed countries is resolved. But it also depends on the definition of sensitive commodities and the effects of further liberalising trade in manufacturing goods. Developing countries will have to look very carefully at the gains and losses from proposed Doha Round agreements, the so-called ?modalities?. For many developing countries, the nature of any agreed package will be more important than reaching any agreement by a specific deadline.The Doha Round and Kenya: Good and Not So Good Lessons

THE U.S. SUGAR INDUSTRY UNDER EU AND DOHA TRADE LIBERALIZATION

This study evaluates potential reforms of the EU and some liberalization policies under the Doha agenda proposal. Results indicate that EU sugar policy reforms will increase the Caribbean sugar price from 8.7 to 9.96 cents, but will not affect the U.S. sugar industry. If the world sugar industry is liberalized on the basis of the WTO-Doha framework proposal, U.S. sugar imports will increase to 1.9 million tons and wholesale price will decrease from 24.89 to 23.79 cents per pound. Under this scenario, it is also expected that the Caribbean price will increase from 8.7 to 12.1 cents per pound. Brazil will benefit the most as production and export sales increase.sugar, liberalization, production, price, EU reform, Doha, International Relations/Trade,

What Should the Developing Countries Do in the Context of the Current Impasse of the Doha Round?

If the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations fails, the biggest losers will be developing countries. In this paper we argue why this is the case and examine various options that may be available to developing countries either to avert or to deal with this failure.Trade Liberalization, Doha Round