Plurilateral trade agreements: an overlooked but powerful force for international trade opening for Asia?

After more than a decade of inconclusive talks, a small but important step was taken in late 2014 to finish the Doha Round negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In 2015 and beyond, actions to arrive at a Doha Round Agreement should be accompanied by embracing new plurilateral trade agreements within the WTO. This move can benefit growth and development in Asia. The 27 November 2014 WTO General Council Meeting at last brought a positive outcome to a rather difficult year for the trade diplomats in Geneva. After India and the US managed to reach an agreement on public stockholdings for food security purposes, WTO members finally adopted the Bali Package . Director-General Roberto Azevêdo strongly welcomed this commitment to the multilateral system by WTO members. In addition, the members agreed during the meeting to develop a work programme by July 2015 on how to move forward on the remaining Doha Development Agenda issues. The core themes of the work programme will be agriculture, non-agricultural market access, and services. In the area of agriculture, the key challenge will be to find a permanent solution for the issue of public stockholdings. In light of the difficult negotiations, Director-General Azevêdo urged...

Written by Matthias Helble, Ganeshan Wignaraja