The WTO Ministerial Conference, Hong Kong, December 2005

This Information Bulletin provides an Alberta perspective and assessment of the results and prospects of the current Doha Development Round of the WTO in the wake of the December 2005 Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong. The outcomes at Doha were modest but worthy of attention since Alberta’s economy depends so much upon international trade. Anderson concludes that the strong emphasis on agriculture and development distracted from possible progress on reducing other tariffs; and domestic politics, and the relationship between the US and EU meant progress was hard to come by. Veeman looks at the agricultural negotiations and contends that achievements were modest and the goal of phasing out agricultural subsidies by 2013 is less than ambitious. Reif, in analyzing the legal implications of the Ministerial Conference, concluded that substantial legislative changes to the WTO agreements will be required and much remains to be negotiated. The Mirus paper examines the implications for non-agricultural market access (NAMA) and trade in services. He finds that the Hong Kong negotiations brought no concrete results on services and, that in Alberta, progress on NAMA will primarily affect processed raw materials.