Imagining a new negotiation strategy for LDCs at the WTO

The 2015 World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC) in Nairobi, Kenya from 14-18 December 2015, provides another opportunity to finalise the current Doha trade negotiations round which started in 2001. A settlement may increase trust in the foundations of the multilateral trade system. Unfortunately, all signs suggest that, yet again, no agreement will be reached. This policy brief highlights potential courses of action for the group of least developed countries (LDCs) in several key areas. Showing that the defensive positions that LDCs have typically adopted in the past are no longer appropriate in the current context, it argues that a more aggressive approach will prove more effective to steer negotiations towards their development needs.