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Policy Analysis

The Emperor Needs New Clothes: Failure in Hong Kong will represent a significant setback even if it is dressed in the clothes of success

By Mark Halle on December 13, 2005
There are two ways to avoid failure, writes IISD's Director of Trade and Investment, Mark Halle, on the eve of the 2005 WTO Ministerial meeting in Hong Kong. The first is to succeed; the second is to "agree that a significantly more modest result is acceptable and declare it a success." Failure to move negotiations forward in Hong Kong will represent a setback, even if the result is dressed in the clothes of success.