We should launch a new WTO round this year. The economic case is compelling. That is equivalent to adding an economy the size of Canada to the world economy. All countries would gain from further multilateral liberalization. Of course, these are only estimates.
Reasonable people can quibble about the exact size of the gains from a new round.
The political challenge is to ensure that we grasp the opportunity of freer trade rather than succumbing to the threat of protectionism. Negotiations in Geneva on liberalizing trade in agriculture and in services are entering their second year. Progress has been good. But we urgently need to broaden the agenda beyond the mandated negotiations. Because it creates political trade-offs.