Proposals for WTO Reform: A Synthesis and Assessment
28 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016
Date Written: January 1, 2011
Abstract
This paper summarizes the major arguments and proposals to reform the modus operandi of the World Trade Organization --including decision-making procedures, negotiating modalities, and dispute settlement. Much has already been done to improve the internal and external transparency of World Trade Organization processes. Some proposals for structural reform ignore incentive constraints and the fact that the World Trade Organization is an incomplete contract that must be self-enforcing. Others -- such as calls for a "critical mass" approach to negotiations --can already be pursued (and have been). The agenda for international cooperation increasingly revolves around "behind-the-border" regulatory externalities that do not necessarily lend themselves to binding commitments in a trade agreement. This suggests a focus on strengthening notification/surveillance and developing more effective mechanisms for dialogue on regulatory policies that may create negative spillovers.
Keywords: Economic Theory & Research, Trade Law, World Trade Organization, Trade and Services, Free Trade
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
Participation in WTO Dispute Settlement: Complainants, Interested Parties and Free Riders
By Chad P. Bown
-
The Optimal Design of International Trade Institutions: Uncertainty and Escape
-
GATT, Dispute Settlement and Cooperation
By Marie C. Thursby and Dan Kovenock
-
The Case for Auctioning Countermeasures in the WTO
By Kyle Bagwell, Petros C. Mavroidis, ...
-
The Case for Tradable Remedies in WTO Dispute Settlement
By Kyle Bagwell, Petros C. Mavroidis, ...
-
Power Plays and Capacity Constraints: The Selection of Defendants in WTO Disputes
By Andrew T. Guzman and Beth A. Simmons
-
Peculiarities of Retaliation in WTO Dispute Settlement
By Kym Anderson