In September 2003, ministerial trade talks collapsed in Cancun, Mexico, setting back the global economy and tarnishing the reputation of the World Trade Organization (WTO). To resolve the current gridlock, rich and poor countries alike must face the new reality that multilateral trade negotiations are now irreversibly anchored within a system of cooperation for global development-a framework that all United Nations members have unanimously endorsed.

The prospects for global trade liberalization will remain uncertain until all countries realize the tremendous implications of the tight correlation between trade and development. Three lessons in particular emerge from the Cancun debacle. First, in response to the legitimate concerns of poor countries and the global civil society, countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) must open their markets in labor-intensive sectors. Second, poor countries must reduce their trade barriers and deepen their reforms, especially in agriculture. Third, the hard-pressed WTO must streamline its organization and refrain from involving itself in an ever-expanding range of "behind the border" topics.