Global trade deal reached after 2 decades

A deal to boost global trade has been approved by the World Trade Organization's 159 member economies for the first time in nearly two decades, keeping alive the possibility that a broader agreement to create a level playing field for rich and poor countries can be reached in the future.

…"We have put the world back into the World Trade Organization," said [WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo]. "For the first time in our history, the WTO has truly delivered."

The talks were threatened at the eleventh hour when Cuba objected to removal of a reference to the decades-long U.S. trade embargo that Cuba wants lifted.

Trade ministers had come to the four-day WTO meeting on the resort island of Bali with little hope that an agreement would be reached after years of inertia in trade negotiations…

Earlier on, India had been an obstacle because of its vociferous objections to provisions that might endanger grain subsidies aimed at ensuring its poor get enough to eat. WTO members gave developing nations a temporary dispensation from subsidy limits, shelving the issue for negotiations at a later time…

The centrepiece of the agreement reached in Bali was measures to ease barriers to trade by simplifying customs procedures and making them more transparent.

The deal could boost global trade by $1 trillion over time and also keeps alive the WTO's broader Doha Round of trade negotiations, sometimes known as the development round because of sweeping changes in regulations, taxes and subsidies that would benefit low income countries.

…"Once implemented, the agreement is expected to cut trade costs globally by up to 10%, boost world exports by $1 trillion and create 21 million net jobs…

Azevedo said the WTO will spend the next year developing a fresh approach for moving forward with the Doha negotiations…

The idea behind the WTO is that if all countries play by the same trade rules, then all countries, rich or poor, will benefit…

But some critics say WTO rules may hinder countries from setting their own priorities in environmental protection, worker rights, food security and other areas. And they say sudden reductions in import tariffs can wipe out industries, causing job losses in rich and poor countries…

This has been excerpted from the 7 December  2013 article by the CBC News, and is available in its entirety at http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/global-trade-deal-reached-after-2-decades-1....