{"id":23920,"date":"2018-08-06T18:46:39","date_gmt":"2018-08-06T13:16:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=23920"},"modified":"2018-08-06T18:46:39","modified_gmt":"2018-08-06T13:16:39","slug":"the-problem-at-the-wto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/the-problem-at-the-wto\/","title":{"rendered":"The Problem at the WTO"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><u>Context<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>WTO is facing existential crisis during a time when developed economies have adopted protectionist attitude<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Evolution of WTO<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1944: Bretton Woods\u2019s conference wanted to make ITO (International Trade Org.) but USA did not ratify. Thus, GATT was born as a stopgap arrangement<\/p>\n<p>1947: GATT (General Agreement on Trade &amp; Tariffs) established aimed to reduce barriers to international trade<\/p>\n<p>1986: Uruguay Round of Talks; Service &amp; Intellectual Property rights related topics included in the debate<\/p>\n<p>1994: Marrakesh treaty under Uruguay round of talks at Morocco<\/p>\n<p>1995: WTO was established. India was a founding member<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-23921 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.forumias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/st1.jpg?resize=599%2C458\" alt=\"\" width=\"599\" height=\"458\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/st1.jpg?w=599&amp;ssl=1 599w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/st1.jpg?resize=150%2C115&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/st1.jpg?resize=300%2C229&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, 599px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><u>WTO Buenos Aires meet<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The World Trade Organization\u2019s 11th Ministerial Conference held at Buenos Aires ended without a Ministerial Declaration. Members failed to reach consensus on already existing major issues like public stockholding of food items and new issues like ecommerce<\/p>\n<p><strong>Major takeaways<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Public stockholding of food items<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>There was no outcome on public stockholding for food security purposes or on other agriculture issues. As a result, India&#8217;s food security programmes and its current public distribution system will not be impacted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>Special Safeguard mechanism<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>There was no outcome on Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) which allowed developing countries to Increase tariff against agricultural imports that are causing injuries to domestic farmers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>Fisheries<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>Member nation pushed commitment to secure a deal on fisheries subsidies for prohibiting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing to the end of 2019. this decision was taken after a deadlock of fifteen years<\/li>\n<li>This give India more time to ensure that there are adequate safeguards in place to protect artisanal (Traditional) fishers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><strong>Singapore issues<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>The \u2018Singapore issues\u2019 \u2013 investment, competition policy, government procurement and trade facilitation \u2013 are among the most contentious issues to have been discussed in WTO<\/li>\n<li>No decision is being taken over Singapore issue<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li><strong>No to new issues<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>The new issues like ecommerce, Investment facilitation, MSME and gender issuesare pushed by the developed world to broaden the trade agenda. But these issues were opposed by developing countries<\/li>\n<li>Developing countries are apprehensive that this may dilute the existing agenda such as agriculture and development<\/li>\n<li>However, India also recognize the importance of new issues such as e-commerce but without compromising on core issues that are important for WTO<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23922 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.forumias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/st2.jpg?resize=672%2C457\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"457\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/st2.jpg?w=672&amp;ssl=1 672w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/st2.jpg?resize=150%2C102&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/st2.jpg?resize=300%2C204&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Issues with WTO<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many analyst has said that Buenos Aires summit has highlighted the existential crisis faced by WTO especially during a time when emerging economies have adopted assertive and developed economies have adopted protectionist attitude<\/p>\n<p><strong>Institutional Issues with WTO<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Persistent North-South divisions<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>WTO talks are mainly seen as a showdown between the North and the South. This is particularly so with the growth in strength of the developing countries and their regional and continental groupings.<\/li>\n<li>Because of this no agreement is happen over the issue of agriculture subsidies despite of several rounds of talks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>Structure and operational procedure of WTO<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>In WTO decision making is through consensus. This has translated into making the WTO decision making long and subject to external manipulation.<\/li>\n<li>Most of the time political and ideological differences come in a way of reaching a consensus<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>Implementation problem<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>This relates basically to the difficulties that mainly developing countries face in meeting their obligations under the WTO agreements.<\/li>\n<li>The two main areas that have affected implementation by developing countries have been the TRIPS and the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures agreements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><strong>Not all countries joined<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>Not all world countries have joined it makes it a less effective organization. Countries such as Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Uzbekistan has not joined WTO yet.<\/li>\n<li>With an increasingly global trading system, member countries do not operate in isolation and trade with WTO member countries only.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li><strong>Strong influence of Corporate<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>The WTO essentially protects multinational corporations based in the North and acts as a tool of rich and powerful countries &#8211; notably the US, the EU, Japan and Canada.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23923 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.forumias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/st3.jpg?resize=541%2C280\" alt=\"\" width=\"541\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/st3.jpg?w=541&amp;ssl=1 541w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/st3.jpg?resize=150%2C78&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/st3.jpg?resize=300%2C155&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 541px) 100vw, 541px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Other Issues<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Trade vs development agenda within WTO<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>The US here tried to separate trade from development and objected to mention centrality for development at the preparation of the declaration.<\/li>\n<li>The US stand will adversely affect the development interest of the developing world.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>Plurilateralism Vs Multilateralism<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>Plurilateralism represents a reaction to the failure of multilateralism when some countries not willing to move forward with the liberalisation process. A plurilateral agreement implies that WTO member countries would be given the choice to agree to new rules on a voluntary basis.<\/li>\n<li>At the Buenos Aires, the developed countries led by the US and the European Union formed groups on e-commerce, investment facilitation and MSMEs within the WTO with more than 70 members in each group.<\/li>\n<li>But the Paradox with plurilateralism is that it may heart both traditional multilateral principles and international trading system<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>Protectionism Vs Free Trade<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>There is a trade war between US and China despite both being a member of WTO. This negates the core non-discriminatory principle of WTO<\/li>\n<li>US and China have imposed counter-productive duties, accusing each other of harming their domestic interests.<\/li>\n<li>WTO has not been able to prevent the trade wars despite best efforts and has been labelled as a talk shop.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><strong>Dispute settlement mechanism<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>While WTO\u2019s dispute settling mechanism allows aggrieved parties to file cases against member-states. But some of the cases and issues have remained unresolved for a long time<\/li>\n<li>Recent WTO report shows that there is rapid increase in dispute between the member nations. It is being alleged that developed countries deliberately weaken the dispute resolution mechanism within WTO<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Need of free trade is required more by developing countries like India than developed countries. So Developing countries must work collaboratively to strengthen WTO<\/li>\n<li>There is a need to collaborate effectively and learn from the past experiences when India and China led the developing countries in environmental forums, garnering funds in the form of GCF.<\/li>\n<li>There is need for the structural reformin the WTO functioning as multilateral trading system<\/li>\n<li>Despite WTO being a democratic organization, there is a need to make it more effective in protecting the interests of small nations against stronger countries. The process of retaliation is ineffective and too impractical for smaller players.<\/li>\n<li>WTO needs to strengthen the dispute settlement mechanism as there are issues in appointment of judges in new appellate body<\/li>\n<li>Lastly, WTO needs to enhance discussion mechanism by introducing wider consultations. It has been a long standing complaint by the smaller participants that the consultations or decision making is limited to the green room of DG of WTO.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Context WTO is facing existential crisis during a time when developed economies have adopted protectionist attitude Evolution of WTO 1944: Bretton Woods\u2019s conference wanted to make ITO (International Trade Org.) but USA did not ratify. Thus, GATT was born as a stopgap arrangement 1947: GATT (General Agreement on Trade &amp; Tariffs) established aimed to reduce&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/the-problem-at-the-wto\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The Problem at the WTO<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":10841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-editorials","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/img-iaw-wto.png?fit=1006%2C501&ssl=1","views":{"total":556,"cached_at":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}