The Wall Street Journal
April 27, 2006
Commentary:
Doha Can Still Be Won
By Mauricio Botelho, Jean-Rene Fourtou, Marcus Wallenberg, Jeffrey R. Immelt, Mikio Sasaki And Ratan N. Tata
Negotiators trying to complete the World Trade Organization's multilateral talks -- the so-called Doha Round -- are running out of time. They have a series of tight deadlines to meet this year, but it's now clear that the next one this Sunday will not be met. This is the date set by WTO members to agree on procedures for liberalizing agricultural and industrial trade.
Two more deadlines loom and should be circled in red on all our calendars:
• By July 31, comprehensive schedules of commitments for each of the member countries are to be drafted, and revised offers submitted to liberalize trade in services.
• By Dec. 31, the results of these and several other areas of the negotiations are to be submitted to trade ministers for approval as a single package.
It is generally accepted that these negotiations must conclude by the end of 2006. Knowing that this is the make-or-break year, WTO head Pascal Lamy has sensibly warned negotiators to move into a higher gear. On the initiative of the International Chamber of Commerce, we heads of global corporations from different parts of the world join forces to urge the world's political leaders to refuse to let these talks fail.
We have strongly supported the Doha Round since its launch four years ago, with its emphasis on helping the developing world through multilateral trade liberalization and on real new market access opportunities in goods and services for all. Our collective experience has taught us that multilateral trade liberalization and a rules-based global trading system will foster economic growth, create jobs, give consumers more choices and improve lives in both the developing and the developed world. For us, a stable and open trading system is a most important prerequisite for our decisions to invest in the future.
The remaining obstacles to fulfilling the long-standing promise of the Doha Round are mostly political, not technical. They involve differences in politically sensitive areas like agriculture. We know a thing or two about tough negotiations, and we can assert with confidence that these gaps can be bridged. But that will happen only if difficult, decisive choices are made.
Consider what hangs in the balance. Most immediately, failure to reach a final agreement would nullify commitments already made during the round. These include outlawing all agricultural export subsidies by 2013, introducing duty- and quota-free market access for almost all exports from 32 least-developed countries by 2008, and eliminating developed-country export subsidies to cotton by as early as the end of this year. Further, the significant progress made to date on elaborating rules to facilitate trade and reduce the cost of international transactions would be put at risk.
The poorest and smallest countries will continue to face slower economic growth unless the nondiscriminatory, global trading system is strengthened and protectionist barriers are substantially reduced.
None of the eight previous rounds of multilateral trade negotiations in the decades since World War II ended in failure. If the Doha Round became the first, the cost would be high and the repercussions would be widespread. In particular, advocates of protectionism would have new freedom and new opportunities to impose even more wrongheaded trade barriers. As the custodians of the multilateral trading system that has served the world so well, our political leaders are responsible for ensuring it continues to grow and thrive for the benefit of future generations. The alternative would be a complicated web of bilateral agreements which are not a substitute for nondiscriminatory, global rules.
The prize of a successful and ambitious Doha Round can still be won, despite past delays and disappointments. That prize is well worth the intense effort it will take to conclude the talks this year. World business strongly supports that effort in the belief that the creation of substantial new business opportunities in a multilateral environment will translate into higher living standards across the globe.
Mr. Botelho is chairman and CEO of Embraer. Mr. Fourtou is honorary chairman, International Chamber of Commerce, and chairman of the supervisory board of Vivendi. Mr. Immelt is chairman and CEO of General Electric. Mr. Sasaki is chairman of the board at Mitsubishi. Mr. Tata is chairman of the Tata Group. Mr. Wallenberg is chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce as well as SEB.
ICC statement, “ICC recommendations for completing the Doha Round”
Letter from BIAC Secretary General, “Doha: let us get away from realm of one-upmanship” (Financial Times, April 27, 2006)
More on USCIB’s Trade Policy Committee
ICC website
Wall Street Journal website
