世贸组织可能告别多哈回合 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.

世界各国贸易部长们也许已给长期陷入僵局的多哈回合贸易谈判敲上了棺材上的最后一颗钉子，从而为世界贸易组织(WTO)开始聚焦于一些更小、但成功几率更高的协定扫清道路。

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.

对一直在推动世贸组织走上新前进道路的美国和欧盟而言，上周六汇聚内罗毕开会的162个成员国的贸易部长未能“重申”多哈回合（这是2001年大张旗鼓启动该回合以来的第一次）是一个胜利。贸易部长们还对在世贸组织框架下讨论新问题（如数字经济和投资）敞开了大门。

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.

与会各方还达成了规模较小的一揽子措施，包括禁止对农产品提供出口补贴，农业出口融资的新指引，以及贫穷的棉花生产国获得进入发达市场的新渠道。

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.

在多哈回合问题上的决定，相当于对世贸组织内部在如何推进的问题上根深蒂固的分歧进行模糊处理。世贸组织在共识基础上运转，在成员国未能就前进道路达成一致的情况下，在内罗毕会议召开之前呼吁世贸组织“挣脱多哈回合的束缚”的美国得到了自己想要的结果。

“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.

“尽管世贸组织成员国之间仍存在意见分歧，但很显然，世贸组织在内罗毕跨入了一个新时代，”美国贸易代表迈克弗罗曼(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.

这个新时代很可能会看到世贸组织转向有所侧重的谈判，而不是多哈回合所追求的那种面面俱到的大规模全球协定。近年美国会同其他一些WTO成员国一直在推动这种安排。

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.

美国在10月份与日本等11个国家完成了《跨太平洋伙伴关系协定》(TPP)谈判，目前正寻求同欧盟达成一项类似的区域协定，并寻求与少量WTO成员国就服务和环保产品贸易达成行业协议。

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.

不过，印度以及一些公民社会团体表示，内罗毕会议的结果对于世界上的穷人是一个打击。他们提出，多哈回合至少在文字上注重发展，抛弃多哈回合说明世贸组织背叛了最贫穷的成员。