Doha Remains Elephant in WTO Room Masking Small Nairobi Wins
- Leaders agreed to cut tariffs on $1.3 trillion of tech goods
- Doha round of talks still unfinished after almost 15 years
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The World Trade Organization’s conference in Nairobi this week scored a series of small victories on matters such as fishing subsidies and import tariffs on mobile phones, even as questions on the relevance of the 14-year-old talks on trade development remain.
Trade leaders announced the expansion of the Information Technology Agreement, which will cut tariffs on $1.3 trillion worth of IT products, and agreed to explore ending subsidies that lead to over-fishing in parts of the world. They also worked on a draft deal to end direct support payments for farmers.