The complete collapse of talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO) this week was surprising only in its suddenness. While the WTO's most powerful members play the blame game in the media, the real reasons for the negotiations' demise lie in the fundamental mistakes made more than five years ago when WTO members agreed to the Doha Agenda in November 2001.

The WTO will regain its relevance when its members acknowledge that free trade is not a substitute for development policies. Free trade has undermined the livelihoods of working people and farmers around the world, but particularly in poor countries. What the Doha negotiations and their collapse have exposed are the long-standing divisions in how countries view trade as a tool for development.