American Business Coalition for DOHA

About the DOHA Round

The Doha Development Agenda - Expanding The Gains From Trade

The Doha Round is the first round of multilateral trade negotiations that places central importance on integrating developing countries into the global economy. History has proven that developing nations that open themselves to trade grow at several times the rate of other countries because they attract and allow private sector activity to thrive.

The United States has among the lowest overall trade restrictions on imports from low-income and least-developed countries. But, we can and will do more in this round.

Trade = Development

Elimination of trade barriers could lift up to 500 million people out of poverty over the next 15 years.
Nearly $900 billion in annual income gains to developing countries from elimination of barriers to services.
Most of the gains from industrial tariff cuts will accrue to developing countries.
More than half the overall gains from reductions in agricultural trade-distortions under the Doha Round can be derived from agricultural liberalization by developing countries themselves.

The American Business Coalition for Doha (ABCDoha) supports opening the U.S. market further because liberalization benefits not only U.S. consumers, but also those in poorer exporting countries who engage in the opportunity to raise their living standards through new and better paying jobs. Those world citizens in turn become new consumers who can increasingly afford U.S. products.

But, all countries must contribute if all countries are to gain. Developing countries should use the opportunity of Doha to lower the barriers that currently hamper their productivity. South-South trade is growing 50 percent faster than world trade in general and constitutes between 25-40 percent of developing country exports. However, nearly 70 percent of the tariffs paid by developing countries are paid to other developing countries.

The World Bank projects that three-quarters of the projected income gains from global trade liberalization for developing countries are expected to come from reducing their own barriers. Exempting this dynamic segment of global trade from liberalization would only undermine the development objectives of the round.

ABCDoha also supports the United States' longstanding commitment to help developing countries make necessary adjustments so they may benefit from new trade and investment opportunities. The United States has invested $920 million in bilateral trade capacity building assistance and makes significant contributions to other important programs such as the Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance for least-developed countries. The United States also makes generous annual contributions to the WTO Global Trust Fund for trade capacity building.

Over the long run, private sector participation in developing countries is necessary for poverty reduction and sustainable growth. Economic activity flourishes when trade and investment barriers come down. So great is the potential that studies estimate the elimination of trade barriers could lift anywhere from 300 to 500 million people out of poverty over the next 15 years. We cannot miss this opportunity to reach a meaningful commercial outcome to the Doha Round, thereby extending the gains from trade to the world's poorest citizens.

Additional Resources