Doha Round in the Doldrums
Since July 2008 when the meeting among ministers of the WTO members ended with a standoff on key issues in agriculture, there has been a virtual pause in substantive negotiations under the Doha Round. Senior officials convened a series of meetings in the last quarter of 2009 but these proved to be of no avail. Hopes were pinned on the outcome of a stocktaking meeting at the vice-ministerial level scheduled for March 22-26 2010, which was also to take a view on whether it was feasible to conclude the negotiations during the year.
