Worry later

The Doha trade round looked dead last July, but it is showing feeble signs of life. A successful deal would not be big news now, but it could offer valuable insurance in case of a global financial crisis. Unfortunately, the reports of progress could well prove too sensible to be true. In the financial community, interest in the Doha round has been minimal. In the short term, that makes sense. Tariffs are already low and trade is growing steadily, with or without a new deal. The deal under discu...