Tuesday, March 31, 2009

What's the best approach for the G20?


Triage, according to this eloquently argued piece by World Bank economist Aaditya Mattoo.

He more or less says " forget about saving the world, concentrate on merely holding the line on trade".

This column proposes the launch of a WTO Crisis Round at the G20 summit. Unlike the Doha round’s liberalising agenda, such a crisis round would simply aim to “hold the line on protectionism” and prevent a retreat from current levels of trade openness. Such action is necessary for the global trading system to survive these “potentially perilous times.”