World Trade Organization

Dear Delegates,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the World Trade Organization at Harvard National Model United Nations 2011. My name is Ken Li and I am your committee director. I hope that the weekend you spend here in Boston will be filled with exciting discussions, new friends, and great memories. Having just gone to my first Model UN conference this past spring, I share your excitement and enthusiasm. Whether you are a first-time delegate or a MUN veteran, I hope that you have a fun and stimulating time here.

I am a rising junior at Harvard living in Winthrop House. I am concentrating in social anthropology and doing a secondary field in economics. I am also interested in film, photography, and literature and am always up for a discussion on movies and books. In addition to Model UN, I am involved with a non-profit organization called Digital Literacy Project which works to increase technology education amongst kids in Boston and in pilots around the world. I am also a member of the Crimson Key Society and give official campus tours to visitors from around the world. Let me know if you want one! I love travelling, writing, and sports of any nature (I recently played cricket for the first time and loved it).

The topics we will look at during committee are both pressing issues facing the WTO today with strong implications for future developments. We will look at the role of environmental subsidies in the world economy and also discuss the future of the Doha Development Round. Both of these topics invite intellectual discussion as well as concrete solutions and proposals. I look forward to the debates to come!

I look forward to meeting each and every one of you. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or if you would just like to introduce yourself!

Best Wishes,

Ken Li
Director, World Trade Organization
Harvard National Model United Nations 2011

Topic Area A: Environmental Subsidies in the World Economy

Each year as much as $100 billion is spent by governments and consumers around the world on green subsidies designed to encourage wind, solar, and other renewable energy markets. Much of this funding goes to large transnational corporations that play key roles in international trade. Over time, these subsidies have come under increasing scrutiny and have drawn as many critics as supporters. As a committee, we will analyze how the use of these subsidies alters the global green market. We will determine how governments can best encourage greener companies and trade relations in an effective way. It is critical that our committee produces a method of regulating and measuring the success of these subsidies.

With the goals of reducing emissions, promoting new sources of energy, and helping create jobs, green subsidies are an emerging part of the future world economy. How can WTO member nations encourage these objectives in an effective way? How can the WTO ensure an economic balance of power between the green markets around the world? Should member nations of the WTO adhere to an international agreement that regulates the distribution of funding?

Topic Area B: Doha Development Round

The Doha Development Round is a trade-negotiation round of the WTO with the purpose of lowering trade barriers around the world. However, since 2008, these talks have been halted due to a rift of differences between developed nations (led by the EU, USA, and Japan) and developing nations (led by India, Brazil, China, and South Africa) on major issues, mainly in regards to agriculture.

It is the WTO’s purpose to encourage and regulate free trade. The Doha Development Round aims to liberalize trade and open agricultural and manufacturing markets around the world. As a committee, we will debate the pros and cons of the Doha Development Round and whether it should resume as being an integral part of our discussions. If so, what steps can developed and developing nations take to settle their differences and continue to promote open markets?