Doha deal could boost world GDP $300-700 bn - study

Sun Aug 16, 2009 5:51am EDT
By Jonathan Lynn
GENEVA, Aug 16 (Reuters) - A successful Doha round trade deal could boost the global economy by $300-700 billion a year, a study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics said.
The figures that the Washington-based institute calculates are similar in size to stimulus packages deployed by the biggest countries to tackle the economic crisis, and underline how much is at stake in the long-running talks.
Delays in completing the round, now in its eighth year, prompted two leading trade economists at the institute -- Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Jeff Schott -- to examine the potential benefits.
The economists estimated the boost to global exports from concluding the Doha Round could range between $180 billion and $520 billion annually, depending on how far-reaching an eventual deal turns out to be.
"The potential GDP gains are significant, between $300 billion and $700 billion annually, and well balanced between developed and developing countries," they said.
World leaders have called for the round, launched in the Qatari capital in 2001 to help poor countries prosper through trade, to conclude next year.