It comes as a great relief that the global trade talks in Geneva have been saved from collapse. Early Sunday, working past the Friday deadline, delegates from the World Trade Organization's 147 member nations agreed on a framework setting basic rules for completing the new round of negotiations that began in Doha, Qatar, in 2001.
Prospects for progress had been clouded by the breakdown of last September's WTO meeting in Cancun, Mexico, at which a group of developing nations clashed with wealthy nations over agriculture and other sensitive issues. With a basic agreement in place, the door is now open for a final -- and more detailed -- accord by the end of 2005.
Optimism is not warranted, however. The reason a breakdown was averted in Geneva is that member nations effectively put off many of the intractable issues that blocked agreement. As the WTO's director general, Mr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, pointed out, the road ahead will be tortuous. To bring the Doha round to a successful conclusion, all members must work together for the common cause of free trade.