Davos Notebook

Davos and the never-ending Doha round

Jonathan Lynn

Jan 28, 2011 03:18 EST

This year’s World Economic Forum offers not one but two meetings of trade ministers on the never-ending Doha round. Besides the traditional Saturday lunch hosted by Switzerland on Saturday, this year featuring 26 ministers plus WTO chief Pascal Lamy, the EU is holding a dinner on Friday for the G7 – that’s the trade G7: Australia, Brazil, China, EU, India, Japan and USA.

The meetings may attract some interest as this year is seeing a renewed push to conclude the Doha round, now in its 10th year, after leaders of the G20 (that’s the financial G20 not the trade G20) said 2011 was a window of opportunity.

For those who think this might join a long list of missed deadlines, I offer this story from Jean-Pierre Lehmanne, founder of

The Evian Group at the IMD business school in Lausanne:

Barack Obama has an appointment with God and asks Him, “when will the US deficit be reduced”. God replies, “Not in your lifetime”, and Obama begins to cry.

Angela Merkel meets with God and asks Him, “when will the Euro zone be sturdy”. God replies, “Not in your lifetime”, and Merkel begins to cry.

Hu Jintao goes to see God (yes!!) and asks Him, “when will the province of Taiwan be reunited with the fatherland”. God replies, “Not in your lifetime”, and Hu begins to cry.

A golden opportunity for a new trading system

By Mari Pangestu, who is the Trade Minister of Indonesia. The opinions expressed are her own.

The world continues to face great uncertainties. Global recovery has been uneven, unemployment high and current account imbalances have led to continued tension including the use of currencies and other mercantilist policies for protectionist purposes. And we have yet to conclude the Doha Round of World Trade Organization Negotiations. So what do trade policymakers have to do to face this situation and ensure trade continues to contribute to growth and development?

For Indonesia, trade has recovered to higher than pre-crisis 2008 levels and in line with the higher growth in emerging economies. Like other East Asian economies, Indonesia is increasingly integrated with the region, clearly indicating that East Asia is a growing market with the rise of its population, middle class and purchasing power.

Increased integration within East Asia has taken place because of growth, the unilateral opening up of trade and investment, and more recently the various regional and bilateral free-trade agreements (FTAs). The regional agreements include the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community by 2015, as well as FTAs between ASEAN with China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. Is this an alternative to the multilateral trading system?

The answer is no. As the Chair of ASEAN and East Asia this year, Indonesia’s vision is not that of an insular Asian bloc — but for an ASEAN community in a global community of nations. This means that as Asia grows economically, Asian nations will and should do their part to increase growth and demand, develop regional agreements that are open and become model agreements for others. The various regional agreements should not overlap like a noodle bowl.

It also means individual countries and regions need to do their part to become building blocks and contribute to global governance. Indonesia and others in Asia benefited from an open and fair trading system, so they will continue to prioritize the completion of the Doha Development Round in 2011.