Three good articles in the international media give an insight into the current state of the WTO negotiations, negotiations which are probably more important for New Zealand than any other country in the OECD. The Canadian Press has a macro view exploring why everyone is blaming everyone else for the constant delays. Reuters South Africa is carrying a story on a major rift that has developed between OECD members and developing countries the liberalisation of the crucial services sector. And the Economic Times of India rejects theories doing the rounds that either the Doha negotiation of the WTO are dead. Instead it suggests that the negotiations are about to go into hibernation pending a resumption of negotiations in 2009 (post the US Presidential election). It concludes, that if we are lucky, we could have an outcome in 2011.
What interests The Hive is why do stories such as these not get picked up by the New Zealand media? Are they not more important for New Zealand than Canada, South Africa and India? And why is the New Zealand Government not being more open about what is going on?
