Dark Clouds over Doha

It has been four difficult years since the Doha Round of free trade talks began in 2001. The proponents of free trade now find themselves in retreat across the world. The Bush Administration has stuck to its free-trade guns, but finds itself increasingly unable to deal with a protectionist electorate and hamstrung by the President's lack of "fast track" trade negotiation authority. The European Union, meanwhile, is dragging its feet on the reduction of agricultural subsidy—which has particularly severe consequences for free trade as a whole, because key developing nations are refusing to discuss liberalizing trade in other goods and services until the same is done for farm products. There is still hope for freer trade: negotiators intend to use a WTO meeting in Hong Kong later this month to deliver one last, big push for implementing the Doha mandate this spring. If the Doha Round falls prey to a rising tide of protectionism, however, The Economist fears that even hope will be in short supply. – YaleGlobal