The Wto, the Post-doha Agenda and the Future of the Trade System : a Development Perspective

The World Trade Organisation has emerged as an important agency, whose rules and operations have major effects on the development policies of its developing country Members. This paper reviews some of the recent developments and issues arising from the WTO's work and activities. The paper takes what the author considers is a development perspective" of the trading system. The WTO held a Ministerial Conference in Doha in November 2001 and the decisions made there have resulted in an important and also heavy work programme which will also have very significant implications for developing countries. The work programme contains a long list of issues to be negotiated or discussed. It imposes an extremely heavy workload on the developing countries' policymakers and diplomats. The Doha decisions and the follow-up have also placed the WTO and the multilateral trading system at an important crossroads. Important decisions have to be taken in the next several months on the shape and nature of the WTO and the trade system. The rest of this paper briefly outlines: (1) issues and challenges regarding the existing rules and systems in the WTO; (2) some aspects of the post-Doha work programme in the WTO; and (3) some conclusions on the future of the trade system.