World trade: what happens next?

Negotiations on the WTO’s Doha Development Agenda (DDA) world trade round were suspended on 24th July by Pascal Lamy, WTO Director General, and the suspension was confirmed by the WTO General Council on the 27 July.

Most members, including the UK, lamented the suspension as a missed opportunity to help developing and developed economies alike. Read World Trade Organisation's full statement

The Round was suspended because of a failure by the G6 countries (US, the EU, Japan, Brazil, India and Australia) to reach an agreement on the core triangle of issues at the heart of the talks: market opening in the agricultural sector (particularly by the EU); cuts in subsidies paid to farmers (by the US); and increased market opening for industrial goods (in which Brazil and India are key).

This was extremely disappointing news. However, the UK Government is committed to pushing for the negotiations to restart as soon as possible. This is our number one priority as we firmly believe that the DDA offers the best opportunity to create a more free and fair world trading system. Over the coming months we will do everything we can to get the Round back on track so that its full benefits can be realised.

See our trade homepage for more information about the Doha Round and DFID’s other work on trade and development.

Links

• Why does trade matter?
• How can we make trade fairer?
• Towards a better deal on trade (March 2006)
• Millennium Development Goal 8: Aid, trade, growth and global partnership