In two months ministers from the 148 countries that make up the World Trade Organisation will gather in Hong Kong with a heavy weight of expectation on their heads.
The Doha round of trade talks, launched in the Qatari capital in 2001, is entering what is highly likely to be its final stages. The US’s ability to negotiate a trade deal without having it picked apart by Congress expires in mid-2007, and with Capitol Hill currently in an unforgiving and often protectionist mood, it seems unlikely to be renewed. That means December’s biennial ministerial meeting is the last time that all members are scheduled to gather.
