WTO Benefits: Unequal Distribution and Impact on Developing Nations

This report explores the unequal distribution of benefits within the World Trade Organization (WTO), focusing on its impact on developing nations. The analysis highlights the disparities in trade advantages, emphasizing how policies often favor developed countries. The study examines the effects of agricultural subsidies, such as those given to cotton farmers in developed nations, and their detrimental consequences on farmers in developing countries, particularly in regions like West Africa. The research references studies and provides a nuanced perspective on the challenges faced by poorer nations within the WTO framework. The report concludes that the current structure and policies of the WTO exacerbate economic inequalities, thereby hindering the progress of less developed countries.

Running head: UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF WTO BENEFITS
UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF WTO BENEFITS
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Author Note

1UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF WTO BENEFITS
Benefits of WTO: Developed and developing countries
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is formulated to maintain a smooth flow of
trade among its member countries. The WTO has originated from the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was articulated to promote tariff-free trade (Wilkinson,
2013). These operations are performed through certain agreements that are binding to all its
members. Although a majority of its member belongs to the category of less developed and
developing nations it fails to distribute benefits equally among its members. Several studies
indicate that the policies are biased towards developed nations. Additionally, the policy
approach of this organization aims at increasing the trade volumes of the richer nations (Putte
& Orbie, 2015). In contrast to this, the poorer and developing nations are worse-off. The
productivity of the developed nations out-weighs the output volumes of the developing
nations. As a result, the share of richer nations dominates the world market. This can be
explained from the cases of subsidies provided to the farmers of the member countries. The
agricultural subsidies support the developed farmers of richer countries to contribute higher
yield in the global market. Thus, the farmers or harvesters of the poorer nations are
threatened by the livelihoods of the richer farmers. This deepens the poverty of the poorer
nations. Another example is of the $47 billion subsidies paid to the cotton farmers of the
developed nations affecting the 15 million cotton harvesters from West Africa (Sneyd, 2015).
This induced the farmers to the rollout of the business domain. However, supporters of WTO
oppose the views of researchers.

2UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF WTO BENEFITS
References
Putte, L. V. D., & Orbie, J. (2015). EU bilateral trade agreements and the surprising rise of
labor provisions. International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial
Relations, 31(3), 263-283.
Sneyd, A. (2015). The poverty of ‘poverty reduction’: the case of African cotton. Third
World Quarterly, 36(1), 55-74.
Wilkinson, R. (2013). The WTO: Crisis and the governance of global trade. Routledge.