The House that WTO Members Built

Abstract

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an anomaly among international organizations in the world today. It is one of the newest of all the international organizations, born less than twenty years ago, yet it has a pedigree going back to the end of World War II. Why has the WTO been viewed with such scepticism by civil society and non-governmental organizations? Did the Uruguay Round negotiators make egregious mistakes by agreeing to extensive, intrusive, international rules on trade in goods, services and intellectual property, and creating a highly legalistic, binding dispute settlement system? Is the WTO now in decline? The WTO’s first ten years seemed to be so brilliant and full of promise. Is it a victim of its own success by expanding the scope of the rules and commitments and its membership too fast?

The Uruguay Round negotiators built the WTO Members a house: the WTO, in which they can administer the existing agreements, observe the practices of others, discuss relevant matters, negotiate new agreements and changes to existing agreements, resolve disputes, and cooperate with other international organizations. The WTO faces several major challenges to its continued viability and credibility as an international organization. Is the WTO constitutionally flawed, with decision making and rulemaking systems that do not work for the benefit of all Members? Is its dispute settlement system too strong, and its rulemaking system too weak and ineffective? How can the credibility and legitimacy of the WTO be improved? With the increasing proliferation of PTAs, how can the centrality of the WTO be maintained in the multilateral trading system? Is the WTO a house made of bricks, or straw? It has a strong foundation, but the responsibility lies with the Members to decide whether they want to work together to meet the significant challenges that lie ahead.

Keywords: WTO, international trade, dispute settlement, legitimacy, consensus, Appellate Body, transparency, rulemaking, international organizations, developing countries, globalization