Global trade ,the measure of universal growth

In the recent WTO meet at Bali ,we   " won ' a reprieve of  four years during which countries like India will not be sued under the WTO rules for breaching the food subsidy limit.From the GATT era of battling tariff barriers in International Trade,the universal perception across trading nations has remained strait jacketed. Post  2008 global downturn ,disagreements still continue in the WTO,over several key areas including agriculture subsidies .The developed countries give $400 billion of subsidies every year to farmers but are still considered compliant with WTO rules because they opt for income support to their farmers instead of providing subsidies like India.In these skirmishes the larger battle for expanded wold trade is lost. Trade has sadly not received the seriousness it increasingly deserves, though   global  economic adversity is rewriting our economic expertise  in the realm of monetary and fiscal policies. While individual nations would gladly tap into the advantages provided by  globalisation ,they show reluctance to share common problems of a unified economy.Global trade has steadily weakened,  almost  stagnant in the last six months.  In good times, the trade generated by a country’s growth bolsters global growth. But, in times of crisis, the trade spillovers have the opposite effect. Considered not as worrisome as  financial disruptions, trade imbalances do profoundly influence global growth prospects. We ought to realise  that policy errors and delays, both  in collective fora and  individual countries,   cause substantive  setbacks  to every economy. As growths decline it is  followed by a decline in trade  thus  setting up a vicious cycle that skews progressive  discussions in trade fora,that sees deterrence as an operative part of trade  regulation.  To the extent that it could find some minimal agreement , Bali has not been a disappointment .The next Doha round  must bring in positive  fillip to the larger cause of a stepped up  global trade.
   ( Published Fin .Express Dec 27 )
http://epaper.financialexpress.com/204079/Indian-Express/27-December-2013#page/6/3