The 149 members of the WTO will convene in Hong Kong December 13-18, 2005 in the hopes of coming closer to reaching key agreements on international trade. The WTO summits are held at least once every two years, with the last one occurring in Cancun in 2003. This year, participants will work to make progress on the landmark Doha Declaration, set four years ago at the third conference held in Qatar.

Among the more pressing issues this year are subsidies on agricultural exports from wealthy nations and the elimination of tariffs and duties on exports from least developed countries. When farmers in wealthy nations are subsidized by their governments for selling their products well below market price, it makes it difficult for farmers in poor countries to compete.

Similarly, eliminating duties and tariffs on goods from the poorest countries allows under-developed countries to get their goods to markets overseas, leveling the playing field. Currently, the U.S. allows garments from some countries in Latin America and Africa to be imported without duties or tariffs, but not countries such as Bangladesh.

Just prior to the summit, WTO’s members approved a permanent amendment to the intellectual property agreement making it easier for poor countries to obtain generic versions of medicines.