world trade organization (wto)
Post on 10-Jan-2016
51 Views
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
World Trade Organization World Trade Organization (WTO)(WTO)
Original source from
Kimburley Choi
Oct 19, 2005
World Trade OrganizationWorld Trade Organization (WTO)(WTO)
• Established in 1995 as an international organization
• oversees a large number of agreements defining the
"rules of trade" between its member states (WTO,
2004a).
• Successor: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT)
• Goal: reduce or abolish international trade barriers.
• As of Jan 11, 2007, there are 150 members in WTO.
WTO functionsWTO functions
1. as a negotiating forum for discussions of new and
existing trade rules; and
2. as a trade dispute settlement body.
Free TradeFree Trade
1. International trade of goods without tarriffs
2. International trade in services
3. Free movement of labour between countries
4. Free movement of capital between countries
5. Absence of trade distortion policies, e.g. subsidies to d
omestic industries
NegotiationsNegotiations
• One country one vote
• But many WTO agreements such as adopting
agreements (and revisions to them) are determined by
consensus.
• Consensus: NOT mean unanimity – complete agreement
of everyone; because no rejection means agreement
Country member must insist on its rejection
• Many negotiations are closed-door meetings without
inviting poor countries’ negotiators.
Dispute resolutionsDispute resolutions
• Like other international organizations, WTO has no
power to enforce decisions when a member complains
another.
Discipline & PunishDiscipline & Punish
• When WTO rules impose disciplines on countries’ policies,
the outcome of negotiations among WTO members. The
rules are enforced by the members themselves under
agreed procedures that they negotiated, including the
possibility of sanctions. But those sanctions are imposed
by member countries, and authorized by the membership
as a whole. This is quite different from other agencies
whose bureaucracies can, for example, influence a
country’s policy by threatening to withhold credit.
Economically powerful states such as United States can
simply ignore ruling against them brought by the econom
ically weak states since they don’t have enough power to
hurt US trade and to force US to change it position.
Who decide who can be the Who decide who can be the member?member?
• Iran first applied to join the WTO in 1996, but the US
blocked its application 22 times accusing Tehran
supporting international terrorism.
• Russia first applied to join GATT in 1993, and is still not
the WTO member either.
• The “big three” members – the US, the European Union,
and Japan
Who decide who can be the Who decide who can be the member?member?
• Hong Kong (1 Jan 1995)
• China (11 Dec 2001)
• Taiwan (1 Jan 2002)
Why countries want to be WTO Why countries want to be WTO members?members?
• Membership is voluntary, but not joining places the non-
participating nation under embargo.
• That means, weak countries have to join WTO or under
embargo, but joining WTO may mean accepting
disagreeable trade rules.
WTO main principlesWTO main principles
• Most-favored-nation (MFN): treating other people
equally.
• Under the WTO multi-lateral trade agreements, countries
cannot normally discriminate between their trading
partners. Grant someone a special favor (such as a
lower customs duty rate for one of their products) and
you have to do the same for all other WTO members.
Multilateral vs. Bilateral Multilateral vs. Bilateral trade agreementstrade agreements
• The US is using one-on-one agreements with small
countries as models for other multilateral trade
agreements, hawking them around the world as the ideal
way to further trade liberalization.
Bilateral deals fragment the coalitions of developing
countries.
Multilateral trade agreementsMultilateral trade agreementsGATS General Agreement on TradeGATS General Agreement on Trade
• GATS & privatization: December 2005 HK conference
main issue – expansion of GATS.
• National policies must be made with greater flexibility so
that more markets are open to global trade (not only
manufactured goods but services as well).
• E.g. Water services are pushed for the inclusion in the
coverage of GATS.
Multilateral trade agreementsMultilateral trade agreementsGATS General Agreement on TradeGATS General Agreement on Trade
4 modes of supply to deliver cross-border services
• Cross border supply
• Consumption aboard
• Foreign commerce
• Presence of natural person
Multilateral trade agreementsMultilateral trade agreementsGATS General Agreement on TradeGATS General Agreement on Trade
Mode 1
Service provider from one country delivers service in another country
without the presence of the supplier in that country.
Multilateral trade agreementsMultilateral trade agreementsGATS General Agreement on TradeGATS General Agreement on Trade
Mode 2
Service delivered to consumers of another member countries.
Multilateral trade agreementsMultilateral trade agreementsGATS General Agreement on TradeGATS General Agreement on Trade
Mode 3
Service provided by another country through the commercial presence
of the supplier.
Multilateral trade agreementsMultilateral trade agreementsGATS General Agreement on TradeGATS General Agreement on Trade
Mode 4
Service provider as person delivers service in another country.
Multilateral trade agreementsMultilateral trade agreementsGATS General Agreement on TradeGATS General Agreement on Trade
What are the services?
1. Business services
2. Communication services
3. Construction and related engineering services
4. Distribution services
5. Educational services
6. Environmental services
7. Financial services
8. Health related and social services
9. Tourism and travel related services
10. Recreational, cultural and sporting services
11. Transport services
Multilateral trade agreementsMultilateral trade agreementsGATS General Agreement on TradeGATS General Agreement on Trade
• GATS proponents deceitfully argue that governments
can choose to keep certain sectors closed and that
privatization of basic social services is not a GATS
requirement. But GATS has very clear bias for private
business and non-transparent WTO mechanisms favor
developed nations, and processes allow them to apply
intense pressure on developing countries.
The Yes MenThe Yes Men
Andy Bichlbaum
Mike Bonanno
A duo of downwardly-mobile middle-class?
The Yes MenThe Yes Men
Identity Correction
The Yes MenThe Yes Men
In 1993, Mike performed microsurgery on talking GI Joe
and Barbie dolls, switching their voice chips so that GI Joe
would say “Math is too hard”, while Barbie would bark
“Dead men tell no lies.”
The Barbie Liberation Organization (BLO)
The Yes MenThe Yes Men
In 1996, Andy was hired to program the little people in an a
ction game, SimCopter. He secretly created an army of me
n wearing swimsuits, showered each other and the player
with kisses. He was fired and formed RTMark.com
The Yes MenThe Yes Men
In 1999, they created the GWBush.com which looked exact
ly like the real GeorgeWBush.com, but with corrected identi
ty.
The Yes MenThe Yes Men
“There ought to be limits – there ought to be limits
– there ought to be limits – to, uh, to freedom. But,
uh. And we’re aware of the site, and this guy’s just
a garbage man, that’s all he is. And of course I
don’t appreciate it, and you wouldn’t either.”
Replied by Bush.
The Yes MenThe Yes Men
More in the film. Enjoy.
End
top related