Pascal Lamy, the catalyst

Jose M. de Areilza

July 9, 2006

The Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has some tough weeks ahead. He will spend all of his time engaged in shuttle diplomacy and mediation, in order to come up with a solution acceptable to the 149 WTO participants in the Doha round of trade negotiations. Well, Pascal Lamy has great experience acting as a broker on behalf of the European Commission, both as former Commissioner and chief of staff of Jacques Delors. May be his time to shine has come, in the same way that Arthur Dunkel saved the Uruguay round when it was about to collapse.

First thing Mr. Lamy has to do is create a sense of urgency. This round should finish before the end of 2006 and in any case before June 2007, when President Bush looses fast track authority to sign such a deal. The coming days and weeks might be crucial to forge a political compromise, that requires detailed and complex development in the form of “modalities” and “schedules” of lowering trade barriers.

Second thing Pascal Lamy must do is offer a broader picture of the negotiation potential gains to the top political leaders, so they can distance themselves from special interests. (more…)