THINK!

Notwithstanding President Bush’s bold pronouncements, successful Doha Round is highly unlikely. It is not because he lacks the commitment, but the political environment has changed so dramatically that any reasonable accommodation on either side is virtually impossible. With the expiration of ‘Trade Promotion Authority’ on June 30, 2007, the US Congress has denied the President, the only tool in his command to negotiate a fair and productive trade deal.

The Doha Round of WTO (World Trade Organization) negotiations started in November 2001 at Doha, Qatar. This round began with a ministerial-level meeting with the objective to lower trade-barriers around the world, encouraging free-trade between developed and developing countries. Doha Round was scheduled to conclude by December, 2006. As of June 2008, the negotiations still continue between the Western-World, including Japan and the Emerging-Economies, represented by Brazil, China, India and South Africa. The main point of contention is the farm-subsidies and access to markets.

Any agreement in the WTO must be ratified by the US Congress to be implemented in the United States. The current US Congress is in the opposition control. The World Trade Organization (WTO) came into existence on January 1, 1995 as a successor to the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade). WTO deals with the rules of trade between all nations around the world. All World-Trade agreements are signed by the leaders of all trading nations and ratified by their parliaments and political bodies. The WTO headquarters are located in Geneva, Switzerland.