I saw Alan Beattie speak about the WTO negotiations this afternoon. He covered a great number of trade-related topics in his hour-long discussion, many of which would be familiar to those who read his columns (e.g. 1, 2, 3). Here are a few of his remarks that caught my attention:

“No one agrees what development is or what’s good for developing countries.” So the Doha Development Round has translated into each country defining “development” to favor its own interests.

“We’re very sorry about that two centuries of subjugation. Got any sugar?” — on Europe’s trade preferences for former colonies, which result in African LDCs having “the best market access in the world.”

“No one in the system cannot afford to have Doha fail.” Therefore no country will make it happen.

“[Customs reform] is more important than anything at Doha.” Apparently many countries’ ports now process exports more quickly due to the US imposition of security standards after 9/11, which granted political leverage to those seeking customs reform.

“They’re the ones coming out with exciting new acronyms.” — on why journalists tend to focus on institutions

“Three part-time amateurs make up the law as they go along.” — on the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism, where in some cases the panelists are also trade negotiators.

“I have never come across a truly consumer-led free trade campaign.
‘What do we want?’
‘Marginally cheaper sugar!’
‘When do we want it?’
‘Phased in over seven years!'”

I’ll have more on Beattie’s predictions about the Doha round later.