What Did Happen in the DDA? Quantifying the Role of Negotiation Modalities

Negotiators may reach a trade deal on a limited series of issues WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali (3–6 December 2013), one of these being trade facilitation. Based on a quantitative assessment taking into account the detail of the last proposals circulated, we argue however that the design of the negotiation led the DDA to a dead end. This quantification is performed with a dynamic computable general equilibrium model of the world economy, while liberalisation of tariffs is taken into account at the product level in order to address exceptions, flexibilities as well as the non-linear design of the formulas. A reduction in domestic support and the phasing out of export subsidies in agriculture are taken into account, as well as trade facilitation. Importantly, we evaluate the impact of the Spring 2011 sectoral initiatives.