We have reached a critical juncture in efforts to create a more open and equitable global trading system. After the breakdown at the September World Trade Organization meeting, negotiators set themselves the challenge of restarting talks by December 15. But, on the eve of that deadline, the coalitions seem as far apart as ever on the main issues. The risk of the Doha development agenda being put off indefinitely looms larger with each month of inaction.

Any delay in this trade round would be a lost opportunity to spur global growth, make decisive progress in the fight against poverty and keep the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals within reach. It could also accelerate the trend towards bilateral or regional arrangements, leaving many countries isolated from major markets and vulnerable to more powerful trading nations. The onus is now on developed countries to make early, concrete and ambitious commitments to reducing barriers and trade-distorting subsidies in agriculture and to be flexible about new regulatory obligations (the "Singapore issues"). This will not be easy, as it requires determined political leadership and popular support. We see several compelling reasons why such support should be forthcoming.

Expanding trade by collectively reducing barriers is the most powerful tool that countries, working together, can deploy to reduce poverty and raise living standards. A growing body of evidence shows that countries that are more open to trade grow faster over the long run than those that remain closed. And growth directly benefits the world's poor. A one percentage point increase in growth on average reduces poverty by more than 1.5 percent each year. A successful Doha round could lift 140m people out of poverty by 2015.

Increased trade also benefits consumers and efficient producers, through lower prices and access to a wider variety of goods. This is because trade encourages greater specialization—which dramatically lowers costs—and more intense competition, which is central to innovation. In sharp contrast, trade barriers can impose high costs on society—and particularly on those that can least afford them. For example, it has been estimated that barriers to imports in the 1990s saved 226 jobs in the US luggage industry, but at a cost to American consumers of nearly $1.3m per year for each job. And taxpayers in the European Union spend over $500m annually to subsidize the production of peas and beans.

Expanded trade nearly always means more and better jobs. Over the past two decades—a period of immense technological change and growth in trade—around 40m more jobs were created than were destroyed in the US. It is true that, when a country opens to trade, just as when new technologies are developed, some of its sectors may not be competitive. Companies may go out of business and some jobs will be lost. But trade creates new jobs and these tend to be better than the old ones. The key is to manage the costs of trade adjustment and to support the transition of workers to more competitive employment, not to block change.

Alleviating any transition cost is critical. So too is investing to take advantage of new market opportunities. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank can assist our members, especially developing countries, in assessing potential costs of adjustment. And we can provide technical and financial assistance to help design policies, institutional reforms and investment programs in infrastructure, education and other areas to improve competitiveness and expand exports.

Breathing life into the multilateral trade negotiations will require significant efforts from all. Developed countries should lead the way with substantive offers to lower barriers and curtail trade-distorting subsidies to cotton, sugar, and other agricultural producers. This requires political courage: such actions would impinge on powerful domestic constituencies. But electorates must be told that the losses would be far outweighed by gains that would be shared more broadly.

Developing countries must also do their part. Tackling domestic trade barriers and embracing trade should be an integral part of development strategies. And these strategies also need to emphasize good governance, sound economic policies and investment in infrastructure, education and health.

Trade liberalization will have the largest impact in reducing global poverty if countries act together to implement it. That is the promise of the multilateral approach. Taking these actions should not be seen as "concessions" but steps to promote opportunity and productivity in one's own economy. If all governments take these steps together they get the twin benefits of higher productivity at home and greater market opportunities abroad. The sooner they do so, the better.