Sunday, July 2, 2006
previous entry | main | next entry | TrackBack (0)
Time is running out before the panic button is pushed and we all go over the brink, fall off a cliff, and cross the Rubicon into the red part of the red zone
Alas, it looks like the Doha round has come to a standstill. Actually, that's not fair -- the round has been at a standstill since the December 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial. This has made writing and blogging about the round somewhat difficult -- kinda like trying to describe the same traffic jam for nine months. However, props to AP writer Bradley Klapper for coming up with a novel angle (link via Megan McArdle): The WTO is surely one of the most cliche-riddled bodies in the world as diplomats compete in a game of words to describe sometimes impenetrably complex trade issues. Even if the metaphors only sometimes add substance, catchy phrases usually mean more to people outside the rarified air of global commerce.Despite my flippancy about the rhetoric, the collapse of the Doha round would be a very, very, very bad thing. To understand why, consider Greg Mankiw's point: [S]uccess in the Doha round of international trade talks would give the world more every year than what [Warren] Buffett can give once after a lifetime of being the world's most successful investor. posted by Dan on 07.02.06 at 10:06 AM Comments: The continued failure of the Doha Round serves to highlight the preferability of bi-lateral trade treaties, such as those signed by the U.S. with some of our southern neighbors in recent years (Chile, Peru, CAFTA, etc). Without any help from the WTO and Doha, because of our bilateral trade treaties the American consumer is now able to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables on the dinner table, year-round. Those December grapes from Chile are especially luscious. So what, if the Doha talks fail; bilateralism is working. posted by: a Duoist on 07.02.06 at 10:06 AM [permalink]Are you sure that was AP? It read like the Onion. posted by: EPMason on 07.02.06 at 10:06 AM [permalink]Maybe American workers can recover from NAFTA before the eggheads destroy more of our jobs. Gee, maybe Wal-Mart will have a labor shortage. posted by: save_the_rustbelt on 07.02.06 at 10:06 AM [permalink]I think that if Doha talks doesn't reach to a conclusion then there can be a serious problem that WTO can face. There needs to be a solution that should be there. Otherwise situation can go worse. posted by: Andrew Gates on 07.02.06 at 10:06 AM [permalink]"Maybe American workers can recover from NAFTA before the eggheads destroy more of our jobs. Gee, maybe Wal-Mart will have a labor shortage." You should brush up on Smoot and Hawley and their effect on our jobs. posted by: DoctorOfLove on 07.02.06 at 10:06 AM [permalink]Post a Comment: |
|