WTO MEETING WON’T LIVE LONG IN THE MEMORY

The 11th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) wound up on Wednesday without any clear results – and without even the worst protests of the week (contrary to the history of some previous WTO summits) although they were sufficient to cause traffic havoc downtown. But Argentina’s distance from the world’s main centres of population plus the government’s legally dubious move in barring the entry of 64 international activists made the anti-globalisation demonstrations a shadow of the protests against the Mauricio Macri administration’s domestic reforms later in the week.

Macri had publicly stated hopes that this global summit would give birth to a free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur blocs but these hopes were doomed to frustration with no visible progress despite the “historic advances” announced. Nor did the government obtain any joy on a second line of objectives such as fisheries (the removal of subsidies and restrictions against illegal trawling) or agriculture (including food stockpiling as well as farm subsidies). On the plus side, Susana Malcorra (ex-foreign minister) received praise from WTO’s members and its chief Roberto Azevêdo, as well as British ambassador to BA Mark Kent. In the words of the

Wall Street Journal’s write-up, “progress was minimal.”