The WTO rounds have been plagued with failures to reach consensus between member countries, especially the developed and the developing world. Of late, the fight has been mostly on farm subsidies that the rich nations give to their farmers making their produce cheaper than the locally produced produce of the developing nations.
This has in effect split the world between three groups - the West (America and EU) and the G-20 countries (leading from the front are India and Brazil) opposing the farm subsidies and the voiceless 3rd group who just attend the rounds and go back. However that is only one aspect of the WTO jinx. The economically weaker countries actually don’t have a voice and are almost wary of participating in the talks.
This Forbes article lists four things in order to make the WTO talks more effective.
They are:
a) Making simple procedural changes and technical help to enable economically weaker countries participate more effectively.
b) The talks in each round should be limited to what will secure the interest of all participants.
c) Showing a flexible attitude and approach to the negotiations would encourage developing nations more willing partners in the rounds.
d) The US and European Union must play a major role in ensuring the success of the talks and arrive at meaningful deals notwithstanding whatever form future WTO negotiations may take.
The above points as suggested by Forbes are not only easy to implement but simple as well. However, the willingness of the West is crucial because it will be very difficult to convince the poorer countries to see the merits of the rounds.
