The Doha Round Impasse: A Graphical Account
33 Pages Posted: 10 Dec 2013
Date Written: December 2013
Abstract
Several factors potentially responsible for the failure to conclude the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations are analysed. A two-stage negotiation and ratification game between the North (industrialised countries) and the South (developing countries) is employed and collapses into a single diagram. The choice of negotiating agenda, principles, and currency of the Doha Round interact with domestic political factors in leading WTO members, the fast growth of exports prior to 2007, and pervasive unilateral trade reform to eliminate the landing zone for this particular multilateral negotiation. Recent emphasis on differences between developing countries and on Chinese WTO accession as independent causes of the impasse seems misplaced.
Keywords: deadlock, Doha Round, impasse, two-level games, WTO
JEL Classification: F02, F13, F53
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation