Ivy Lumpkin #4 – World Trade Organization

I learned from this article that the Doha Development, whose objective is to lower trade barriers around the world to increase trade globally, has withstood seven years of negotiations. Talks about issues, such as agriculture and industrial tariffs and non-tariff barriers and trade remedies, that have come to a halt due to significant differences between developed nations including the United States, Japan, and the European Union and major developing countries represented by Brazil, China and India, to name a few. The leaders of Britain, Indonesia and Germany declared a strong intention to establish a global trade agreement by the end of the year in efforts to create a pact that will benefit the world’s poor and boost growth for all countries.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that this would be the cheapest way to bring economies forward, and the president of Indonesia said free trade is more important than aid. Discussions concerning the opening up of rich markets to agricultural products and other goods of the world’s poor will be ultimately beneficial. I agree that open trade will aid in the succession of development. However, I am uncertain of every countries’ willingness to do this. Competition is a necessary function of the global economy, yet the contention against and between countries in regard to various subsidies create trade barriers. What problems could come from open trade that also stem from inevitable competition? Could specialization in each country be the answer to make open trade a cycle that works smoothly?
This global goal seems to be something the Doha Development has been trying to achieve for seven years. Are any of the same foreseeable issues going to arise from working towards this goal, or did creating this goal outside of the Doha Development change the way countries work towards unity and open trade?

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