April 5, 2003
Two months after the Sept. 11 attacks, a grieving world agreed to an ambitious new round of trade talks with the aim of helping the world's poorest — and reducing the motives for terror. Held in Doha, Qatar, these new talks were labeled "the development round," and at their center lay a pledge by rich countries to lift the barriers that keep third-world farm products out of their markets. It was called by some the Doha promise. So far it is a promise that has largely been broken because of powerful protectionist interests and the erosion of multilateral sentiment in international relations. Trade ministers failed to meet a year-end deadline in 2002 for an agreement to get poor countries access to generic drugs to fight AIDS and other diseases, and they failed to meet last Monday's deadline for a preliminary agreement on agriculture.
That is most unfortunate. The minutiae of trade negotiations spanning years may seem eye-glazingly opaque, but their substance promises meaningful help for the world's poor. Rich nations spend $300 billion a year subsidizing their own farmers — and their exports — while hurting developing nations by slapping high tariffs on farm products. Their collective $50 billion in foreign aid does not begin to make up for the damage from this protectionism.
The European Union, especially France, bears most of the responsibility. President Jacques Chirac, whose approval ratings have soared on account of his opposition to the Iraq war, ought to realize that he should abandon his country's stubborn defense of the outdated common agricultural policy and its lavish payouts to French farmers. The United States, the villain in blocking a deal on relaxing drug patents, has offered sound proposals for agriculture. Yet last year's farm bill suggested that the U.S. might be more eager to emulate European protectionism than to foster reform. President Bush has failed to emphasize his trade agenda. Robert Zoellick, the energetic trade representative, increasingly comes across as quixotic, singing multilateralism's praises in an administration that is taking on the world on its own terms.
The goal was to have trade agreements finalized by 2005. Europe and the United States must recover lost momentum as part of their postwar reconciliation strategy. It could go a long way toward fighting global terror.
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