Doing 'development' at the World Trade Organization: the Doha Round and special and differential treatment

摘要

The trade talks launched at the WTO's fourth ministerial meeting at Doha in November 2001 are supposed to have at their heart the needs and interests of developing countries, which are far more active in the World Trade Organization (WTO) than they were in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Yet, while some concessions are going to have to be made to developing country demands in order to reach a conclusion to the Doha Round, they are going to be hard won. So far the industrialised countries have not been prepared to set aside what they see as their commercial or political interests to make the Doha promises a reality.