A New Realism in the Doha Round? A Roundtable Discussion

Abstract

On March 2-3, 2006, a group of leading observers of the international trade and investment scene gathered in Ottawa for an informal discussion of the prospects for the Doha Development Agenda in view of the progress in negotiations made at the Sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) at Hong Kong, China, December 2005. The roundtable discussion was sponsored by the Centre for International Governance Innovation at the University of Waterloo and the International Development Research Centre, in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. The talks focused on the progress of negotiations and the prospects for an ambitious outcome, taking into account the geopolitical and international macroeconomic context, as well as looming developments on the political calendar. This note represents the Chair's thematic summary of the discussions.

Keywords: WTO, Doha Round

JEL Classification: F13