Many of those reforms were bound, partially or fully, in the Uruguay Round. Although the degree of trade protection is still high in many developing countries, gross distortions in trade regimes have been greatly reduced. In many developing countries, pro-market reforms have encouraged faster growth, diversification of exports, and more effective participation in the multilateral trading system. Even LDCs are doing a bit better, though not as well as other developing countries. Clearly, though, we need to do better.
Trade liberalization is essential for growth and development.
But it is not enough. A new WTO round will do little for a nation that is torn apart by war or that spends all its export revenues on weapons. Nor will it be much use if good governance is missing or crippling debt overhangs. Nor will a round help those poor countries who have no domestic capacity or infrastructure to take advantage of new market access opportunities. After all, when people grow richer by exchanging goods with each other, they are less likely to fight each other or to jeopardize their trade by causing havoc.