Doing a Deal in Doha

It was hailed as a timely tonic for the worlds faltering economy, a bold three-year program updating trade rules set over half a century ago to meet the sophisticated demands of todays global village. And a political message for those who feared that the Seattle antiglobalization protests of 1999 and the terrorist acts of Sept. 11 had crippled international consensus making.

But for all the worthy aims of the new round of World Trade Organization negotiations, the six-day talks to launch them last week in Doha were grueling and acrimonious. The meeting in the tiny Gulf state of...