Redesigning the World Trade Organization for the Twenty-first Century

Redesigning the World Trade Organization for the Twenty-first Century PDF

Author: Debra P. Steger

Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press

Published: 2010-05-06

Total Pages: 498

ISBN-13: 1554587956

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Two high-level commissions—the Sutherland report in 2004, and the Warwick Commission report in 2007—addressed the future of the World Trade Organization and made proposals for incremental reform. This book goes further; it explains why institutional reform of the WTO is needed at this critical juncture in world history and provides innovative, practical proposals for modernizing the WTO to enable it to respond to the challenges of the twenty-first century. Contributors focus on five critical areas: transparency, decision- and rule-making procedures, internal management structures, participation by non-governmental organizations and civil society, and relationships with regional trade agreements. Co-published with the International Development Research Centre and the Centre for International Governance Innovation

A World Trading System for the Twenty-First Century

A World Trading System for the Twenty-First Century PDF

Author: Robert W. Staiger

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2022-12-20

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 0262047306

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When designing a world trading system for the twenty-first century, “Keep calm and carry on” beats “Move fast and break things.” Global trade is in trouble. Climate change, digital trade, offshoring, the rise of emerging markets led by China: Can the World Trade Organization (WTO), built for trade in the twentieth century, meet the challenges of the twenty-first? The answer is yes, Robert Staiger tells us, arguing that adapting the WTO to the changed economic environment would serve the world better than a radical reset. Governed by the WTO, on the principles of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), global trade rules traditionally focus on “shallow integration”—with an emphasis on reducing tariffs and trade impediments at the border—rather than “deep integration,” or direct negotiations over behind-the-border measures. Staiger charts the economic environment that gave rise to the former approach, explains when and why it worked, and surveys the changing landscape for global trade. In his analysis, the terms-of-trade theory of trade agreements provides a compelling framework for understanding the success of GATT in the twentieth century. And according to this understanding, Staiger concludes, the logic of GATT's design transcends many, if not all, of the current challenges faced by the WTO. With its penetrating view of the evolving global economic environment, A World Trading System for the Twenty-First Century shows us a global trading system in need of reform, and Staiger makes a persuasive case for using the architecture of the GATT/WTO as a basis for that reform.

Reconstructing the World Trade Organization for the 21st Century

Reconstructing the World Trade Organization for the 21st Century PDF

Author: Kent Albert Jones

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0199366047

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Jones examines the difficulties of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in completing multilateral trade negotiations and possible ways to improve the situation. The problem lies in the institutional structure it inherited from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was designed for a more limited scope of trade negotiations among wealthier, industrialized countries. The book presents a model of the GATT/WTO system as a global institution, based on the accepted goals, rules, and obligations of the members, as well as the output the institution is expected to generate.

Trade in the 21st Century

Trade in the 21st Century PDF

Author: Bernard M. Hoekman

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2021-01-19

Total Pages: 309

ISBN-13: 0815729057

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Despite troubled trade negotiations, global trade—and trade policy—will thrive in the twenty-first century, but with a bow to the past. Is the multilateral trading order of the twentieth century a historical artifact? Was the creation of the World Trade Organization in 1995 the high point of multilateral cooperation on trade? This new volume, edited by Bernard M. Hoekman and Ernesto Zedillo, assesses the relevance of the WTO in the context of the rise of China and the United States' turn toward unilateral protectionism. The contributors adopt a historical perspective to discuss changes in global trade policy trends, adducing lessons from the past to help understand current trade tensions. Topics include responses to U.S. protectionism under the Trump administration, the policy dimensions of trade in services and the rise of the digital economy, how to strengthen the WTO to better negotiate new rules of the game and adjudicate disputes, managing China's integration into the global trade system, and the implications of global value chains for economic development policies. By reflecting on past episodes of protectionism and how they were resolved, Trade in the 21st Century provides both context and guidance on how trade challenges can be addressed in the coming decades.

WTO Reform

WTO Reform PDF

Author: Teddy Soobramanien

Publisher: Commonwealth Secretariat

Published: 2019-04-29

Total Pages: 101

ISBN-13: 1849291861

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The publication provides historical and up-to-date insights into how reform can be transformational and progressive in nature and broadens the debate by focusing not only on new pathways for decision-making but also on important issues such as the environment and the SDGs. Finally, it highlights the importance of keeping the multilateral trading system alive for the benefit of all states, particularly for small states, Least Developed Countries and sub-Saharan African countries. WTO Reform: Reshaping Global Trade Governance for 21st Century Challenges, is designed to serve as a valuable resource for government officials, trade negotiators, journalists, academics and researchers who are attempting to sort through the complexities of the organisation and the role they can play in supporting a fairer, more inclusive WTO and multilateral trading system.

Negotiations in the World Trade Organization

Negotiations in the World Trade Organization PDF

Author: Michal Parizek

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-10-10

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13: 0429748752

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This book examines the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the context of the global economy in the twenty-first century, arguing that many problems within the institution lie in the disparity between its design and the nature of its tasks. Studying the global trade regime and the unsuccessful Doha round of trade liberalization negotiations, this volume suggests that important institutional adjustments may be necessary for the WTO and other major international institutions to (re-)gain their ability to manage global economy. It uses extensive new qualitative and quantitative evidence to identify systematic dysfunctions in how the Doha negotiations have been conducted and links these dysfunctions to the exclusively inter-governmental design of interest representation in the WTO. Based on this, the book argues that global economic institutions should consider allowing broader parliamentary and non-state representation of their members. Presenting findings which can also be applied to other global economic institutions, Negotiations in the World Trade Organization will be useful to students and scholars of international trade, global governance and international political economy.

The World Trade Organization Millennium Round

The World Trade Organization Millennium Round PDF

Author: Klaus Gunter Deutsch

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2001-01-25

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 1134557175

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This book draws together key issues resulting from the World Trade Organization's planned 'Millennium Round' and the hope that it will lead to freer trade as we begin this new century.