世貿組織可能告別多哈回合 World Trade Organisation moves on from stalled Doha round

Trade ministers from around the world have put what may be the final nail in the coffin of the long-stalled Doha round of negotiations, clearing the way for the World Trade Organisation to start focusing on smaller agreements with a better chance of success.

世界各國貿易部長們也許已給長期陷入僵局的多哈回合貿易談判敲上了棺材上的最後一顆釘子，從而爲世界貿易組織(WTO)開始聚焦於一些更小、但成功機率更高的協定掃清道路。

In a victory for the US and EU, which have been pushing for a new path forward for the WTO, trade ministers from its 162 member countries meeting in Nairobi on Saturday failed to “reaffirm” the Doha Round for the first time since it was launched amid great fanfare in 2001. They also opened the door to the discussion of new issues at the WTO such as the digital economy and investment.

對一直在推動世貿組織走上新前進道路的美國和歐盟而言，上週六匯聚內羅畢開會的162個成員國的貿易部長未能“重申”多哈回合（這是2001年大張旗鼓啓動該回合以來的第一次）是一個勝利。貿易部長們還對在世貿組織框架下討論新問題（如數字經濟和投資）敞開了大門。

The moves came alongside approval for a smaller package of measures including a ban on export subsidies for agricultural products, new guidelines for the financing of agricultural exports and new access to developed markets for poor cotton-producing countries.

與會各方還達成了規模較小的一攬子措施，包括禁止對農產品提供出口補貼，農業出口融資的新指引，以及貧窮的棉花生產國獲得進入發達市場的新渠道。

The decision on Doha amounts to a fudge that came out of deep-seated differences within the WTO over how to proceed. The WTO operates by consensus and as a result of the membership failing to agree on the path forward the US, which had called for the WTO to remove the “strictures of the Doha Round” in the lead-up to the Nairobi meeting, got the result it was seeking.

在多哈回合問題上的決定，相當於對世貿組織內部在如何推進的問題上根深蒂固的分歧進行模糊處理。世貿組織在共識基礎上運轉，在成員國未能就前進道路達成一致的情況下，在內羅畢會議召開之前呼籲世貿組織“掙脫多哈回合的束縛”的美國得到了自己想要的結果。

“While opinions remain divided among the WTO Membership, it is clear that the road to a new era for the WTO began in Nairobi,” said Mike Froman, the US trade representative.

“儘管世貿組織成員國之間仍存在意見分歧，但很顯然，世貿組織在內羅畢跨入了一個新時代，”美國貿易代表邁克弗羅曼(Mike Froman)表示。

That new era is likely to see the WTO move towards more narrowly-focused negotiations rather than the large monolithic global agreement targeted in the Doha round, something the US has been pushing for alongside other WTO members in recent years.

這個新時代很可能會看到世貿組織轉向有所側重的談判，而不是多哈回合所追求的那種面面俱到的大規模全球協定。近年美國會同其他一些WTO成員國一直在推動這種安排。

The US in October concluded negotiations with Japan and 10 other countries on a Pacific Rim trade deal. It is pursuing a similar regional deal with the EU and sectoral agreements on services and the trade in environmental goods with small groups of WTO members.

美國在10月份與日本等11個國家完成了《跨太平洋夥伴關係協定》(TPP)談判，目前正尋求同歐盟達成一項類似的區域協定，並尋求與少量WTO成員國就服務和環保產品貿易達成行業協議。

India and civil society groups, however, said the result in Nairobi was a blow to the world’s poor, arguing that by walking away from the Doha round, which put at least a rhetorical emphasis on development, the WTO was betraying its poorest members.

不過，印度以及一些公民社會團體表示，內羅畢會議的結果對於世界上的窮人是一個打擊。他們提出，多哈回合至少在文字上注重發展，拋棄多哈回合說明世貿組織背叛了最貧窮的成員。