Friction in Geneva

At the WTO talks in Geneva, an overnight crisis meeting has failed to produce a consensus among industrialised and developing nations on the liberalisation of global trade. The daily The Guardian comments on the possible failure of the current Doha round. "This week's negotiations are the latest in a series of last-ditch attempts to save the trade round. Even so, hardly anyone expects a meaningful result. ... Would it be so bad if the Doha talks did collapse? Most would not notice. International trade has shot up over the past decade, not because of the WTO, but largely thanks to the ever-closer integration of India and China into the global economy. That said, rich countries would use the talks' failure as an excuse for their unfair individual trade negotiations with developing countries. Perhaps the gloomiest lesson from Doha's failure would be in another area: climate change. There too, international, coordinated action is needed."

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