Hopes for a development round in world trade – opening up opportunities for developing countries to grow and reduce poverty – now seem dashed. Though crocodile tears may be shed all around, the extent of disappointment needs to be calibrated: Pascal Lamy, the head of the World Trade Organization, had long worked to diminish expectations, so much so that it was clear that whatever emerged would bring, at most, limited benefits to poor countries.
Hopes for a development round in world trade – opening up opportunities for developing countries to grow and reduce poverty – now seem dashed. Though crocodile tears may be shed all around, the extent of disappointment needs to be calibrated: Pascal Lamy, the head of the World Trade Organization, had long worked to diminish expectations, so much so that it was clear that whatever emerged would bring, at most, limited benefits to poor countries.