Is It Worth To Rescue The Doha Round (Reading Response)

The document discusses problems with continuing the Doha Round of trade negotiations. It summarizes an article that identifies three main problems: 1) trade imbalances are pushing countries toward protectionism, 2) anti-globalization sentiments exist worldwide, and 3) political leaders lack motivation to make concessions to reach an agreement. The document argues these problems stem from realist perspectives in international relations and that developing countries see little benefit from the Doha Round. It concludes the Doha Round is not worth rescuing as it does not address domestic economic problems and mainly benefits strong countries.

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Is It Worth To Rescue The Doha Round (Reading Response)

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Treblif Adarojem

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Galanza, Margarette International and Regional Organizations

AB Political Science 3B Mr. John Aquilino Edmund G. De Lima

Is It Worth to Rescue the Doha Round

(Reading Response)

After the Second World War, the states, especially those in the backlash of nearly an economic
breakdown, must save themselves from the massive damages and economic deficits done by the Second
World War (even though not all countries participated in the Second World War). That is why after the
war, the United Nations was organized as the leading international organization to forge formal
discussions and talks with other states to maintain peace and stability in the world, as well as to provide
a better avenue for each state to engage themselves in a fruitful trade that would lead for them in a win-
win situation, thus, a result of the introduction of the liberalist perspective in international relations was
already started. On the realm of formal economic talks, one of the most anticipated discussions initiated
by the G8 or the 8 most powerful and developed countries was the Doha Round, which is actually a part
of several rounds of discussions to initiate formal talks and encouragement to developing states to
participated in the free trade scheme and globalization. In the article written by C. Fred Bergsten (2005),
he acclaimed the 3 main problems why Doha Round cannot be rescued or may be dead in the first place.
First, there are massive current imbalances and currency misalignments pushing trade politics in
dangerously protectionist direction (2). Protectionism is the main enemy of free trade because it
encourages massive trade restrictions through high tariffs and quotas, and protectionism may be the
biggest solution of developing states to gain themselves from currency deficits and rebuild their
domestic economies. Second, there are strong sentiments of anti-globalization in every parts of the
world, especially those who are not contented with the conception of free trade upon their domestic
economy (2). And lastly, is the absence of a compelling reason for political leaders of chief holdout
countries to make a necessary concession to reach an agreement (2). These problems are perennial
especially to those developing countries that had not yet been reached out by the GATT-WTO in
rebuilding their economy, and these developing states had a very strong nationalist sentiment that
these formal discussions within the Doha Round cannot help them or it may not benefit them in the first
place. Bergsten’s discussion on the problems and solutions of the states to end up the realm of
protectionism and free trade are good, but on the other hand, Bergsten also forgotten the main concept
or natural reason why these problems exist, and that is because of a neorealist conceptions in the
international relations. He lacked on the explanation of the neorealist perspectives of leaders and only
focused on the positive side of saving the Doha Round. But for me in my own opinion, it is not worth to
rescue the Doha Round because it is not the main solution to the problems of the domestic economies
of states but it is only a scheme of strong countries to gain resources leaving the weak into demise.