I suppose if you like going to Geneva–which strikes me as a pretty boring city–there is no harm going there to take in the sites and kick back. But, if you are a trade minister or official using public money to attend the Doha round trade meetings as an actual cover to go to Geneva, you better find a better excuse because nothing is going to happen there that is worth the trip. It’s a sham. And thank god for that.

   As a quick primer to those less-inclined to bore themselves with the details: every decade or so, the global economic powers (read: corporations) kick off another round of trade talks designed to massage the world trading system. The concept of figuring trade out is not a bad idea–the problem is that all the rule-making is really done by bureaucrats marching to the tune of governments that march to the tune of investment and capital leaders. The current round of talk began in 2001 (!!!) in Doha, Quatar…thus the current process is forever named the Doha round.

   So, now, they come to Geneva to try to make some final deals. And that won’t happen, not the least of which is because the U.S. president has no power to make a deal that has any chance of passing Congress. Oh, sure, he can pretend to agree to a deal. But, Mr. 28 Percent has no power left to pass any meaningful trade legislation. So, it is all for show.

   Mind you, this is a good thing. If you want to thank your lucky stars that Bush can’t make the deal, then, you should first thank the trade activists who have built a monumental movement in the country to stop the worst kind of trading system.

  This requires a tip of the hat to people at Public Citizen, the AFL-CIO, Change To Win, and the Citizens Trade Campaign–just to mention a few.

  These are the forces that have pushed for a new approach to trade (such as the TRADE Act), won over Republican voters who oppose the current trade policy, and made trade an important factor in the 2006 elections.

  Don’t get me wrong. There will still be a huge fight to move world trade policy to a place where workers and communities have a powerful voice. But, the reason the failed trade policy (whether you call it "neo-liberalism" or so-called "free trade") is dead in the water is precisely because of people power.