That business has been less enthusiastic about Doha is not just a multinational phenomenon. What business community exists in Brazil, India and China, for example, has opposed any deal that would require reciprocity. As a constituency, their impact on the round and their own countries' trade policies has been negative.
But, with respect to the multinationals, there is little interest in the round because the bargain framed there is entirely inapposite to their needs. The reduction in transaction costs attending global economic integration has fundamentally altered the way firms are organized and the basis on which they compete. The barriers they worry about are those that hinder their ability to tap sources of capital, talent and ideas globally to form a value chain that serves global markets.
My basic point is that we need something that appeals to both ends of the supply chain to succeed. Since both the multinationals and their suppliers benefit from trade facilitation and rules that diminish the friction involved in trade, that is where we should start. We should then explore those areas that would lend themselves to ITA-style agreements that avoid the MFN hurdle by aggregating enough of the players in any given sector so as to diminish the importance of free riders. But, staying on the current path, I fear, is a sure way to end up listening to another decade of pieties about development from all sides without making any material progress toward a more equitable, as well as more balanced, global trading system.
