Doha Development Agenda
Information on the Doha Development Agenda, the current round of World Trade Organisation multilateral trade negotiations
In November 2001 Trade Ministers from 142 countries launched a new round of world trade negotiations at the 4th WTO Ministerial Conference, in Doha, Qatar. The work programme that was adopted, known as the Doha Development Agenda or DDA for short, envisaged a broad round of trade negotiations, with the needs and interests of developing countries placed at its heart.
The benefits of an ambitious, pro-development round
An ambitious, pro-development outcome from the Doha Development Agenda would deliver substantial benefits to the global economy, and in particular to developing countries:
- an ambitious outcome to the Doha round is essential for maximising the contribution of trade to poverty reduction and lifting as many people as possible out of poverty
- it has been estimated that halving protection in agriculture, industrial goods and services could boost developing country incomes by around $150 billion a year - three times the value of all aid budgets put together
- analysis shows that the majority of the benefits from liberalisation flow to the country doing the liberalising, notably through lower prices for consumers and increased competition which generates more innovative companies
- maintaining the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in its current form costs a family of four around €1000 a year, through higher food costs and taxes
- multilateral liberalisation through the DDA will also create new business opportunities abroad for UK business
Despite the difficulties the Round has faced over the last 11 years we remain committed to achieving a fairer and freer trade system that increases global growth and poverty reduction and benefiting developed and developing countries alike. This is founded on two key principles: a commitment to multilateralism; and making trade a lever for achieving our development goals.
