The Doha Development Round and the WTO suffer from a broad systemic malaise that is besetting multilateralism, argues Guy de Jonquières in a new ECIPE/GMF working paper produced for the Transatlantic Task Force on Trade. Procedural and mechanical changes are not going to fix the problems in the WTO, since these are related to profound shifts in the structure of the world economy. The rise of important new economic players has eroded U.S. and European dominance. At the same time, no one is prepared to lead the multilateral system in the style of the U.S. hegemon during the Cold War. Diverging national priorities, unwillingness to compromise and the primacy of self-interest over the collective good are symptoms of this current transition away from the familiar old structures that have governed international co-operation. The United States and the EU need to rethink their approaches to trade liberalization. It is imperative to return to the core argument of trade liberalization – the biggest economic benefits do not come from exports but from removing barriers to one’s own market, thereby increasing competition, productivity and innovation.