The suspension of the Doha Round negotiations have been hailed as a disaster for international economic relations and international efforts at promoting development through trade liberalisation. Yet this ‘time-out’ as Pascal Lamy refers to it as, has indeed some positive aspects. First, it opens up the possibility of a fresh and more vigorous approach to a truly development round. Second, it is also a poignant reminder that whatever else may be happening in international relations at any rate in international economic relations there is no one superpower. Developing countries can and do have the capacity to say ‘no’. Third, there are important lessons to be learnt from this suspension ----.in particular, the approach and manner of negotiations. Perhaps before the negotiations are resumed there is a call for negotiations on how best to facilitate multilateral trade negotiations such that the optimum outcome is achieved for the international community as a whole. The manner in which communication flows in international economic relations can be as significant as the flows of goods and services that the WTO is set up to facilitate.
In this issue one contribution provides a framework for understanding WTO jurisprudence from a development perspective; a second paper focuses on the recent IMF Policy Support Instrument with particular reference to Nigeria; and a third paper on fair trade schemes in the context of the WTO.
Asif H QureshiEditor-in-Chief