The WTO - Cancun Round

The “unsuccessful” conclusion of the World Trade Organization ministerial forum in Cancun during mid-September of 2003 has been a topic of much debate, with opinions on the collapse of the talks as varied as those who write about it. Magazines such as The Economist, with it’s firm pro-free trade stance, considered the outcome of the Cancun meeting as a debacle, whereas more left-leaning organizations such as Oxfam (as part of their “Make Trade Fair” campaign) have hailed the outcome as the first rising of poor nations (referred to as the “G-21”, as opposed to the G-8) against their wealthier counterparts in the field of international trade policy. As such, it is difficult for one to ascertain the effects that the Cancun round will have on future discussions without introducing bias of one sort or another. It is the intent of this paper to make an effort at providing a perspective on these talks from both sides, and the effect on those who will feel the results of the deci...