from this article of dani rodrik:
We live under the most liberal trade regime in history not because the WTO enforces it, but because important countries — rich and poor alike — find greater openness to be in their best interest.
The real risks lie elsewhere. On one side is the danger that today’s alarmism will prove self-fulfilling — that trade officials and investors will turn the doomsday scenario into reality by panicking. On the other side is the danger that a completed “development round” will fail to live up to the high expectations that it has spawned, further eroding the legitimacy of global trade rules over the longer run. In the end, it may well be the atmospherics — psychology and expectations — rather than the actual economic results on the ground that will determine the outcomes.
So don’t cry for Doha. It never was a development round, and tomorrow’s world will hardly look any different from yesterday’s.