In an ever more integrated world economy, international trade matters more than ever before. A robust and equitable trading system is central to the fight against global poverty, because it drives economic growth and provides jobs in developing countries where they are sorely needed. Measured by volume, world trade is growing and, since 2000, developing countries as a group have increased their share in world markets from 19 percent to 23 percent. Yet growth in trade in many low-income countries has long been held back by protectionist policies, particularly in more-developed countries. Many of the latter offer subsidies and protection from imports for politically favored domestic industries such as sugar, textiles, apparel, and steel. These assistance measures are a serious barrier to low-income countries' exports. The Doha Round of trade talks, now under way, is the first to place developing country interests at the center of a multilateral round of trade negotiations. Although progress on the Doha Round stalled following the collapse of the September 2003 WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Mexico, WTO members are committed to make progress at and immediately following the last WTO Ministerial, held in Hong Kong SAR in December 2005. A favorable outcome of the round- one that lowers both peak and average tariffs as well as nontariff barriers in both rich and developing countries-could stimulate worldwide increases in income and lift millions of people out of poverty. This seminar will discuss the economic issues involved, the political forces driving the negotiations, and the consequences of a successful or an unsuccessful Doha Round.

Download Trade Presentation(PPT file), Trade Paper(PDF file) and Trade tables(PDF file)

Anderson, K. and W. Martin, Agricultural Trade Reform and the Doha Development Agenda, The World Economy 28(9): 1301-27, September 2005. That article summarizes the new book on Agricultural Trade Reform and the Doha Development Agenda (edited by K. Anderson and W. Martin), London: Palgrave Macmillan and Washington DC: World Bank, November 2005. Both are freely downloadable at www.worldbank.org/trade/wto

Hertel, T.W. and L.A. Winters, "Estimating the Poverty Impacts of a Prospective Doha Development Agenda," The World Economy 28(8): 1057-71, August 2005.

Anderson, K., "On the Virtues of Multilateral Trade Negotiations", The Economic Record 81(4): 414-38, December 2005.

Panagariya, A. (2004), "Miracles and Debacles: In Defence of Trade Openness" The World Economy 27(8): 1149-71, August.

Panagariya, A. (2005), "Agricultural Liberalization and the Least-Developed Countries: Six Fallacies", The World Economy 28(9): 1277-99, September.

Winters, L.A. (2004), "˜Trade Liberalization and Economic Performance: An Overview", Economic Journal 114: F4-F21, February.

Dollar, D. and A. Kraay (2004), "˜Trade, Growth and Poverty", Economic Journal 114: F22-F49, February.