The agenda agreed in November 2001 at the fourth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Doha was ambitious. It put development at the heart of negotiations aiming to make trade work better for all countries, especially the poorest.
Amongst other things, we promised to ensure that the Trade Related-Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement would give developing countries enough flexibility to cope with public health crises. We promised real progress on agricultural market access and action on export subsidies. We promised service negotiations which offer benefits for developing countries. We promised to tackle tariff peaks and escalation as well as non-tariff barriers. And we promised a review of special and differential treatment across all WTO business areas to make them more effective.