Doha Development Round
As the Doha Round or Doha Development Agenda (English: Doha Development Agenda DDA) is called a package of orders that should 2001 edit the Economic and trade ministers of WTO member countries at its fourth meeting in Doha and conclude by 2005. The work program included both formal negotiations as well as orders for the analysis of specific individual topics.
But to a negotiated conclusion there was not due to different views of WTO Members to date. After the Ministerial Conference in Cancun in 2003 did not approach the negotiations were interrupted and initially resumed in July 2004. End of July 2006, negotiations on a proposal by WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy were suspended because the negotiators could not agree on the liberalization of agricultural trade. Negotiations again recorded in February 2007 failed. The fourth start in July 2008 failed to reach an agreement in 18 out of 20 negotiating points to incompatible positions with a remaining point of agricultural policy. Worldwide regretted government and business representatives, the failure of the negotiations. The WTO states had promised to reach a deal in this trade round one up to 100 billion U.S. dollars higher volume of world trade, of which the most part, developing countries would benefit.
Given the global financial crisis accelerated the recovery of world trade talks, it was decided from the global financial summit in November 2008 in Washington. This was supported by shortly afterwards held APEC summit.
Central Negotiating problems
The target of the Doha Round was issued to consider problems of developing countries, which (as of 2001) contributed 29 % of world exports.
In particular, the following topics are on the agenda:
In the agricultural sector, developing countries calling for better market access for their products in the industrialized countries through the reduction of import quotas and tariffs and the reduction of subsidies in the agricultural sector of developed countries.
Also, various intellectual property issues to be renegotiated. Especially with drugs, patent law is very controversial: While the Advocates emphasize its incentive function for research and development, put the critics attention to the developing countries often prohibitively high prices of medicines. Developed countries, particularly the U.S., therefore demand a very limited patent protection opening, while some developing countries want to produce essential medicines without consideration of patent protection and market. They also try to prevent the patenting of traditional knowledge of their population by corporations in the industrialized countries.
Various special provisions for developing countries will be discussed: New obligations should only be valid if the old ones are met. Special rules for step - by-step integration of weaker states are to be created. The following areas are still problems:
- Agreement on Textiles and Clothing ( ATC)
- Standardization
- TRIPS ( intellectual property)
- Customs valuation
Institutional requirements
The problem is that there are few active members: On the one hand the Quad group ( USA, EU, Japan, Canada) is involved. In addition to these industrial countries, only about 30 states are involved, including the emerging markets in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Egypt, India, South Korea, Philippines, Thailand.
The majority of members can not participate due to financial and capacity problems at work.
Since the support of these members is necessary, set up by the WTO Global Trust Fund. This fund would provide developing countries technical assistance to enable them to participate in world trade actively. In the Doha Round, the Doha Development Agenda have been prepared. They are designed to be liberalized for January 2005, among other sectors such as agriculture, services, and market access for developing countries.
People's Republic of China
The former Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai According to the Doha Round should be strengthened, as China will actively support developing countries. The tasks of the Doha Round, they provided for the Intermediate People's Republic of China. These include an import tariff reduction of 50% ( 1990) to 15.3 % (2001 ), removal of export barriers and enormous capital investment.
The advantages for the world trade are located in low labor costs - level and simultaneous wide range of know-how- intensive goods (license transfer).
China is setting an example for the benefits of the WTO as opposed to bilateral agreements.
Reform of the WTO
Reforms are necessary because otherwise regionalism and bilateralism be strengthened. The aim of the reforms is therefore to strengthen the authority of international rules ( principles, agreements ). The special problem lies in the arbitration.
The initiative comes from the members, but the handling is complicated. Many members need support because they lack experts and money.
In 1948 the General agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT ) was lifted from the baptism ( actually a remnant of the planned International Trade Organization ( ITO) ). What remained was an economic agreement that never was an institution, because the U.S. refused to ratify the treaty for the ITO.
Only the GATT came into force in 1948 with the aim to establish free trade worldwide. At that time, but only in the area of trade in goods ( with the exception of textile goods ). Since after 1948, several other important trade sectors thronged to the world market, the GATT had to be reformed according to the will of its members.
The Uruguay Round ( 1986-94 ) was the last GATT round, heralding the introduction of the World Trade Organization ( WTO) at the same time. Only now was an organization of it. The WTO provides for a Council of Ministers, a General Council and Related various boards, committees, councils, etc., a permanent secretariat in Geneva and especially via an arbitration board, in the complaints and grievances of member countries to be negotiated, which the other through illicit trade barriers Member countries are gravely disadvantaged.
Industrialized countries have strong lobby groups and sufficient financial resources to dominate the extensive and ever-changing rules of the WTO to the interesting places sufficient. Economically weak countries often do not have the necessary resources to operate sufficiently with the rules of the WTO on the action level. Moreover, it is as small parts: One has to take legal action can also afford. Developed countries have to sit out the potential legal action, and moreover specifically to take penalties into account, because the profit with the exceeding of certain trade rules, for example, may exceed the punitive tariffs by a multiple.
Bilaterality
It is believed that almost 50 % of trade in goods to be replaced by regional agreements. This is particularly expanding the trend toward bilateral ( two-sided ) contracts. Active are mainly the USA, South Korea, Australia, Japan and the EU.
The disadvantages for the WTO are clear: So arrangements are possible, for which there is no majority are in the WTO (eg Chile). There are primarily enforced the conditions of strong partners. The staff in developing countries is used for contracts rather than for the WTO. At the customs may lead to cost increases. The reason is that the origin of goods for tariff reduction must be determined according to commercial contract.
Cooperation
Targets for the expansion of cooperation include a step forward in controversial topics. For example, the Singapore issues, which would mean an immense extension of the jurisdiction of the WTO in the areas of investment, competition policy, government procurement and trade facilitation, involved in the failure of the Cancún conference.
Other objectives are agreements with the investment protection abroad, on issues of intellectual property, government procurement. Finally, developing countries should be more involved in the processes of decision-making.
Benefit
The cost-benefit ratio of the required agreements was assessed in the Copenhagen Consensus, an every 4 -yearly conference of leading economists, most recently in 2008 and was compared with other solutions to global problems on the second place (out of 30). According to a study of 2011 could arise from the agreement an additional trading volume of 360 billion dollars per year.
Current status
According to the Ministerial Conference in Cancún ( September 2003), the Doha Round has been interrupted. In July 2004, negotiations resumed in Geneva and it was followed in December 2005, the Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong. In the renegotiation of the Ministerial Conference, there was a blockage in negotiations and therefore the WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy recommended in July 2006, negotiations until further notice suspended.
In February 2007, negotiations began again. For most controversial agricultural trade, the chairman of the agricultural negotiating group has submitted a new discussion paper in April 2007. Trade ministers of key negotiating partner, the G6 so-called (EU, USA, Brazil, India, Japan, Australia), agreed on 12 April 2007 in New Delhi on the common goal of the Doha Round now until the end of 2007 to the completion to bring.
Since this was not done, a further meeting in Geneva agreed for July 2008. With this meeting, the trade round should be revived and brought to a possible outcome. The main objective was loud WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, to achieve a reduction of tariffs and agricultural subsidies. EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson demanded according to media reports, however, also a market opening of emerging markets for industrial goods. After nine days of talks in Geneva were broken off on 29 July 2008.
To date (June 2012) no conclusion of the negotiations was achieved since the basic conflict could not be resolved: "The United States still exist to significantly improved market access in Brazil, China and India agreed already in 2008 in the agricultural and industrial goods beyond what is addition; the emerging markets in turn are not willing to further concessions without additional substantive consideration of the United States. " In May 2012, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy reported to the General Council of the WTO, the Doha process should be continued.