Where Are We in the Doha Round?

The report analyzes the stagnation of the Doha Round in mid-2005, highlighting a fundamental deadlock in agricultural market access and the reluctance of the US and EU to implement necessary structural reforms. It argues that while the round is branded as a 'Development Agenda,' tangible benefits for the poorest nations remain elusive, with progress hindered by protectionism and the rise of regional trade agreements. The author suggests that the round's success depends on whether rich countries offer genuine concessions to create a fairer trading system before a perceived 2006 deadline.

• Agriculture is the central pillar of the Doha Round, and progress on all other negotiating topics is dependent on achieving real progress in this sector.
• Negotiations on agricultural market access are severely stalled, despite this area offering the most significant potential gains for the global economy and developing nations.
• There are concerns that domestic support for agriculture may actually increase due to the shifting of 'Amber Box' supports to 'Blue Box' categories and the use of artificially inflated baseline figures.
• The report argues that the 'Doha Development Agenda' label is largely a public relations tactic, as the negotiations do not prioritize the end of poverty or the Millennium Development Goals.
• The slow pace of the WTO negotiations has led to an increase in regional and bilateral trade agreements, which disadvantages smaller and poorer developing countries that lack negotiating power.
• The emergence of the G20 bloc of agricultural exporting developing countries has provided a credible front against the US and EU, but has also highlighted the divergent interests among developing nations.

APA

Halle, M. (2005). Where Are We in the Doha Round? International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_doha_status.pdf

Chicago

Halle, Mark. Where Are We in the Doha Round? International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2005. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_doha_status.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Halle |first1=Mark |title=Where Are We in the Doha Round? |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=August 2005 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_doha_status.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{halle2005where, author = {Halle, Mark}, title = {{Where Are We in the Doha Round?}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2005}, month = aug, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_doha_status.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }