Recent Global Trade Developments
The third quarter of 2010 saw the major advanced economies moving listlessly forward. Economic recovery in these economies has not been strong enough to make a major dent in the prevailing high levels of unemployment and the Wall Street Journal’s forecasting survey in August revealed a pessimistic economic outlook, with slow growth and low job creation. In this environment, there has been a lack of initiative to address the issues that caused a stalemate in the Doha Round. Trade liberalisation has not been on the list of priorities of world leaders and, at Toronto, the G20 dropped altogether the reference to any target year for completion of the protracted trade talks. Now it is going to be “as soon as possible”.
