WTO MC9 Set for Bali, Indonesia December 2013

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has announced that its 9th Ministerial Conference will be held the first week in December 2013 in the Indonesia island of Bali. The decision was made July 25-26 at the WTO General Council meeting in Geneva. WTO members have pledged to discuss the precise dates after the summer break, according to General Council Ambassador Elin Johansen of Norway.The Ministerial Conference is a WTO decision-making body that meets about every two years. It is among the highest decision-making body of the organization. 

Will the stalled WTO's Doha Round, which aims to clear obstacles to trade for the poorest nations, find a place in the 2013 global trade negotiations or will the woes of the wealthiest nations continue to dominate the organization's agenda? The Doha Round began in 2001 and were designed to address protectionist global trade issues like farm aid by the United States and the nations of the European Union, which locks out export opportunities to these markets among the poorest nations -- many of whom have agricultural products as staple exports. Industrial products tariffs and other restrictive measures to imports by emerging countries like China and India are also a major agenda of the Doha Round. 

While the WTO has lowered its bar to entry for poorer nations, the questions being raised by nations seeking fair global trade opportunities is whether the WTO as an institutional organization is capable of assisting them in combating artificial barriers to global trade. Do regional international trade blocs like ASEAN, CARICOM, Mercosur and EAC offer a more effective way to grow free trade opportunities for poorer nations and reduce the effects of powerful nations discriminating against their interests? These will be issues that the WTO must address if it wants to remain relevant to poorer nations.

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