The Collapse of the Doha World Trade Talks

To the Point

KCRW

News

4.4 • 583 Ratings

🗓️ 4 August 2006

⏱️ 51 minutes

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Summary

This week's Economist magazine says the trade talks started in Doha, Qatar after September 11 were designed "as proof that a prosperous and united world could rise above Islamist terrorism." Political leaders had the chance to make the world better off despite the latest Middle East violence, the magazine says but, "they failed." President Bush and Prime Minister Blair have both called for renewing the talks, which collapsed a week ago. We look at why the talks were suspended, whether they can be restarted before it's too late, what powerful farm lobbies had to do with it, and whether they were really a good deal for poor third-world countries after all. We're joined by journalists, economists, the farm industry, diplomats and human rights advocates, including the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Making News: Hundreds of Thousands March in Baghdad in Support of HezbollahHundreds of thousands of Shiite Iraqis marched on the streets of Baghdad today, shouting "Death to Israel, Death to America," in a show of support for Hezbollah in Lebanon. Borzou Daragahi, Baghdad Bureau Chief for the Los Angeles Times, has more on today's demonstration and the stark contrast between the situation in the capital and other regions of the country.Reporter's Notebook: Two Views from Middle EastIsraeli aircraft hit major roadways north of Beirut today as Hezbollah threatened to hit Tel Aviv with a rocket. Meantime, the ground war appeared to be moving slowly. We get different perspectives on the ongoing crisis. Gideon Lichfield is reporting for the Economist magazine in Jerusalem. In Beirut, Michael Young is Opinion Editor of the English-language newspaper, Daily Star.

Transcript

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0:00.0	From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.
0:08.0	War, trade talks, and world poverty.
0:14.4	Hello again, I'm Orman Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,
0:18.1	a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.
0:20.8	As fighting
0:21.2	continues in the Middle East, President Bush and Prime Minister Blair have called for reopening
0:25.3	the Doha trade talks. Started after September 11th. They were advertised as a way the
0:30.9	industrialized world could counter Islamic terrorism by helping the poorest nations. On to the point,
0:37.1	we'll look at why the talks were
0:38.4	suspended a week ago and what powerful farm lobbies had to do with it. Will failure really mean
0:43.5	bad news for third world countries or give them a chance to set their own agendas independently
0:48.7	of multinational interests? On reporters' notebook later on, perspectives on how the war is going from Beirut and Jerusalem.
0:56.8	First, here's the news.
1:01.4	Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio
1:07.1	International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John
1:11.8	D. John D. Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Hello again. Warman. I'm only back with To the Point.
1:16.1	Doha trade talks were promoted as a way the industrialized world could overcome Islamic
1:21.0	terrorism by bringing the third world out of poverty. On To the Point, why did the talks collapse?
1:26.4	Can they be restarted before it's too late?
1:28.7	Were they really a good deal for poor countries after all? On reporter's notebook is either Hezbollah or the Israeli army running out of steam.
1:36.6	We'll hear different opinions from Jerusalem and Beirut. First, this news update, more than 100,000 Shiite Iraqis marched on the streets of Baghdad today,
1:45.8	shouting death to Israel, death to America, in a show of support for Hezbollah in Lebanon.
	...

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