The Wto and the Doha Round: The Changing Face of World Trade

The appointment of Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi as Director-General of the World Trade Organization in 2002 reflects the changing power realities within the WTO. Coupled to this is the growing sense among developing countries that they have been cheated in the way the Uruguay Round commitments have been implemented and a return to unilateralism by the U.S.. The world trading system thus stands at a crossroads. The success of the current Doha Round of trade negotiations hangs in the balance. This volume examines various ways in which the WTO might be reformed or improved and the chances of success in the Doha Round thus enhanced. The WTO has an important role to play in managing globalisation so that its benefits are shared far more equally among individuals than is today the case. This challenge must be met if we are not to slide backwards into a less interdependent, and far poorer, world. Among the specific issues researched and analysed here are: the U.S.-led return to a unilateralist and interventionist approach to global problems; the importance of the rules-based WTO system to developing nations as a crucial alternative to power politics; the failure to achieve enhanced access to developed world markets for agricultural products, textiles, clothing, and footwear; the relevance of GATS and TRIPS to the developing world; internal WTO governance issues, including the important role of the Secretariat as negotiator and mediator; the implementation phase of the dispute settlement understanding; the continuing resistance to linking trade and environment; the place of human rights in the international trading system; and the likely impact of the double scourge of AIDS and terrorism on flows of trade, capital, people, and knowledge. It will quickly be observed that this book represents an approach to world trade theory that will not be welcome in all circles. Yet few will deny its enormous value as a reality check. No concerned policy maker, official or academic can afford to ignore it.