For developing countries, it seems, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Despite all the talk of global power shifts and the rise of emerging economies, the runup to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting in Bali next week has once again forced developing countries on to the back foot despite having reason and ethics on their side.
The recent inability to close a deal in Geneva before the talks reflects the intransigence of some governments – the US in particular – in the face of what seem to be fairly commonsense and fair proposals to rectify large anomalies in the trade rules, and demand a pound of flesh in return for every such “concession”.
