The WTO trade negotiation round that began in 2001 is the Doha Round, formally called the Doha Development Round or Doha Development Agenda. It was launched at the WTO’s Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001.
The round aimed to make the trading system more responsive to developing countries, with negotiations covering agriculture, manufactured goods, services, intellectual property, trade rules and development concerns. Agriculture became especially contentious because members disagreed over market access, export subsidies and domestic support for farmers.
The Doha Round is often confused with the Uruguay Round, which preceded it and created the WTO framework. The Singapore issues refer to subjects introduced at the 1996 ministerial conference, while the Tokyo Round was a GATT-era negotiation round in the 1970s.