The Future of Globalization

The failure of the Doha Round represents the “defeat of the common good by special interest politics,” leaving both the world’s richest and poorest nations at a disadvantage. World Trade Organization members react with the same apathy that led to the breakdown. In the context of robust global economic growth and temptation toward one-on-one trade agreements, apathy led to the breakdown and permeates the general reaction to the failure. Multilateralism – agreements that benefit many countries – is far more difficult to achieve than more simple one-on-one bilateral deals. In the absence of global progress, analysts expect bilateral agreements to proliferate, even though those often ignore or even damage the economies of poor countries. With a more complex web of bilateral agreements, agreements among multiple players will face increasing obstacles. Sadly, the failure of Doha to move ahead with global trade liberalization could mark the start of the unraveling of other WTO programs – and the beginning corrosion of the worldwide trade system. – YaleGlobal