Hullo MDCe8

I agree with your post. In fact I think you have put your finger on the real problem with the WTO agenda. Surely the objective of trade must be to reduce poverty and increase prosperity and opportunities for the world population. If so, a commonsense approach would then be to work out, what are the pre-conditions for this happy state? The answers are well established in the international literature. They include a capable government, an independent non-corrupt public service, universal education, freedom from debt, and agricultural self-sufficiency. Carefully managed trade is also a pre-condition that has featured strongly in the development process for very many countries.

Please note that “carefully managed trade”, not free trade, is the key to success in the evelopment of countries.

Now this is not the way that the WTO operates. It starts with the objective of free trade and then tries to change the rules and practices of countries to achieve that objective. It has chosen the wrong objective. Trade is a means to development but the WTO agenda is based on the assumption that free trade is always beneficial. No wonder it is leaving a trail of failures in its wake.

Regards

Geoff Edwards