Ahead of the decisive WTO Mini-Ministerial : any perspectives left for the Doha development promises?

Böll Lunch Lecture

On 29 June 2006, European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and Trade Ministers of the politically most important WTO Members will start gathering in Geneva to hammer out a last minute deal on market access for agricultural and industrial goods, in order to rescue the lingering `Doha Development Agenda` from imminent failure. Amidst the poker- faced trafficking of numbers, quotas, coefficients, formulas and exceptions, the sight gets lost about the purpose of the Doha Round, namely to contribute to economic development in poorer countries. While once the World Bank saw the Doha Round lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, nowadays, for some observers, success of the Doha Round is merely synonymous with keeping the WTO alive. In this situation, we want to shed light on what is actually on the negotiation table in Geneva at the end of June with regard to development. Is the Doha Round still a promise to most of the developing countries? Is it still meaningful to fight for its speedy conclusion? Guests: Sandra Polaski, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, New York, and author of the study `Winners and Losers: Impact of the Doha Round on Developing Countries`, March 2006 Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the South Centre, Geneva, an inter- governmental think tank supported by more than 40 developing countries Frithjof Schmidt, Green/EFA Member of the European Parliament, EP Committees on Development and International Trade Chair: Claude Weinber , Director, EU Regional Office Heinrich Böll Foundation