WTO Conclusions

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Contents:
  1. Introduction
  2. The WTO as Institution
  3. The WTO's Philosophy
  4. The WTO's Multilateral Trade Agreements

Introduction

When people talk about the WTO they often mean one of three different things:

  1. The WTO as institution. So this refers to the way the WTO is structured - its voting process, dispute settlement procedures etc.
  2. The philosophy the WTO promulgates and stands for: promotion of trade and free trade in particular and thus for globalization of a kind (though this kind of question requires a much more detailed answer see elsewhere on this site in particular Criticisms of the WTO page)
  3. The Multilateral Trade Agreements: GATT, GATS, TRIPS etc, that are agreed to by members of WTO
Of course there is overlap between these three areas but they do provide a very useful division and I will structure my conclusions around it.

The WTO as Institution

The WTO is democratically and fairly structured and provides a good framework for the regulation of international trade. That said there are many imbalances of power and resources between different members within WTO (e.g. very crudely: the US has 500 negotiators, Burkina Faso has 1). However this is a reflection of an imbalance between countries in the world in general and does not derive from any bias of the WTO. Moreover there is substantial evidence that WTO 'rules-based' system does lead to a more transparent situation that protects weaker countries from being exploited by the stronger. In conclusion I quote the following from the Select Committee on Intl Development's report (Exec Summary 2.iv): 'The WTO as a rule-based system is the best and fairest process for trade liberalisation, ensuring the voices of developing countries are heard.' (More discussion of this whole issue can be found on the Criticism of WTO Practices and Structures page)

The WTO's Philosophy

The WTO's core philosophy centres on promoting free and equal trade through trade liberalazition. As the extensive sections on this issue elsewhere on the website make clear this is a complicated area but one in which the consensus of informed economic opinion is that free trade is beneficial to economic growth (conceived in its widest terms). It should be emphasized that growth without pro-poor policies may not lead to many benefits for the poor but this is a domestic issues for the countries concered and not something over which the WTO has any control.

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Created 27-Sep-2002
Last updated 27-Sep-2002
Copyright 2002 R Pollock