Report | World Trade Organization

   

Added on  2020-03-16

7 Pages2063 Words78 Views
The Increasing The Increasing Irrelevance of theIrrelevance of theWorld Trade World Trade OrganizationOrganizationThere are many who question the relevance of the World Trade Organization. What are the causes of such irrelevance? The latestround of WTO negotiations started in 2001 and concluded in 2013. The outcomewere compiled in a package that did not resemble the outcomes that were targeted at in the Doha round, but merely looked like a shadow. Does this imply weakness, ineffectiveness and irrelevance or does this imply a more flexibleand inclusive system. This report examines the WTO from this point of view and provides some recommendations to the way forward. Causes and the Way Forward
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Contents1.Introduction.........................................................................................................................................32 Causes of Irrelevance................................................................................................................................32.1 The Increasing Popularity of Bi-Lateral and Multi- Lateral Trade Agreements..................................32.2 Accommodation of the Clash of Interests of Developing and Developed Countries.........................42.3 The decreasing clout of USA and European Union............................................................................42.4 World Trade Organization and Dispute Resolution.......................................................................53Conclusion: The Way Forward for World Trade Organization............................................................5References...................................................................................................................................................5
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1.IntroductionThe World Trade Organization formed in 1995 was a evolved version of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade as countries all over the world sought a platform to discuss and regulate international trade [ CITATION Joh121 \l 1033 ]. The scope of World Trade Organization extends not only to regulating trade tariffs and barriers but also to serving as a body that negotiates critical issues like Intellectual Property Rights, support trade policies in member countries and is the Dispute Settlement Body for international trade[ CITATION Joh121 \l 1033 ]To some, the WTO is the leader for trade liberalization in the world.[ CITATION Jos11 \l 1033 ]The latest round of negotiations by World Trade Organization started in Doha in2001 and culminated in Bali on 2013. The set of agreements and procedures that were concluded at the conference were compiled as the Bali Package.[ CITATION Wor13 \l 1033 ] However, the year 2008was a critical point in the history of world trade. As the Global Financial Crisis hit the world in 2008, countries all over the world also saw the negative effects of excessive globalization. The brief period inflowing the crisis saw an increase in protectionist voices all over the world.[ CITATION Bus10 \l 1033 ]. For example, the increasing trade of USA with China was views as a reason for unemployment in the USA, thereby, views to be a cause of the crisis. [ CITATION Jos11 \l 1033 ]2.Key changes in WTO since 2008The trend of lower trade barriers has started since 1950s. This trend has continued and has been lower trade barriers. During the period of 2008 and 2014, the “ Tariff Trade Restrictiveness Index” has marginally fallen for most regions, except ‘transition economies (group of some centrally planned economies making a shift to market economy)’. Similarly, the trend of fragmentation of global supply chains has also increased, implying that more goods and services are now being produced and integrated outside their home country. [ CITATION Uni16 \l 1033 ]Yet,the Global Trade Growth, in the post crisis world has been very slow, some even questioning if global trade has peaked.[ CITATION Ben15 \l 1033 ]Many have questioned the relevance of the World Trade Organization in the post crisis world.[ CITATION Uri14 \l 1033 ]while some have credited the WTO for being able to convince countries against protectionism. [ CITATION Jos11 \l 1033 ]Table 1" Tariff Trade Restrictiveness Index (TTRI)" by Importing Region and percentage change between 2008-2014Importing RegionIndex value% change in IndexEast Asia2.6-0.7South Asia7.1-0.6
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