+ All Categories
Home > Documents > 5.10 Common Misunderstandgs

5.10 Common Misunderstandgs

Date post: 30-May-2018
Category:
Upload: avanishsingh2288
View: 223 times
Download: 0 times
Share this document with a friend

of 12

Transcript
  • 8/9/2019 5.10 Common Misunderstandgs

    1/12

  • 8/9/2019 5.10 Common Misunderstandgs

    2/12

    The 10 misunderstandings

    y 1. The WTO dictates policy

    y 2. The WTO is for free trade at any cost

    y

    3. Commercial interests take priority over development y 4. and over the environment

    y 5. and over health and safety

    y 6. The WTO destroys jobs, worsens poverty

    y 7. Small countries are powerless in the WTO

    y 8. The WTO is the tool of powerful lobbies

    y 9. Weaker countries are forced to join the WTO

    y 10. The WTO is undemocratic

  • 8/9/2019 5.10 Common Misunderstandgs

    3/12

    y The WTO does not conduct theretrade policies rather its a memberdriven organization

    y

    The decision taken in WTO arenegotiated, accountable, anddemocratic.

    y The WTO does not dictate togovernment to adopt or droppolicies.

    .y In fact : its the government who

    dictate the WTO.

  • 8/9/2019 5.10 Common Misunderstandgs

    4/12

    y

    Provide forum for negotiatingliberalization and also providethe rule that how liberalizationcan take place

    y

    Lower trade barriers by thecountry & allow trade to flowfreely .

    y One countrys commitmentbecome another countrys rightand vice-versa

    y It all depends upon whatcountries want to bargain

  • 8/9/2019 5.10 Common Misunderstandgs

    5/12

    y The WTO agreements arefull of provisions taking theinterests of developmentinto account.

    y The WTO is not onlyconcern about commercialinterest, this does not takeplace over development.

    y Developing countries areallowed more time to applynumerous provisions of theWTO agreements.

  • 8/9/2019 5.10 Common Misunderstandgs

    6/12

    y In the WTO, commercial interests doNOT take priority over environmentalprotection.

    y Many provisions take environmentalconcerns specifically into account.

    y umbrella clauses (such as Article 20 of

    the General Agreement on Tariffs andTrade) which allow countries to takeactions to protect human, animal orplant life or health, and to conserveexhaustible natural resources.

    y Environmental objectives arerecognized specifically in the WTOagreements dealing with product

    standards, food safety, intellectualproperty protection, etc.

    y the system and its rules can helpcountries allocate scarce resourcesmore efficiently and less wastefully

  • 8/9/2019 5.10 Common Misunderstandgs

    7/12

    y The WTO does NOTdictateto governments on issuessuch as food safety, andhuman health and safety.Again commercial interestsdo NOT override

    y The agreements werenegotiated by WTO member

    governments, and thereforethe agreements reflect their

    Concerns.y Safety concerns are built

    into the WTO agreements

  • 8/9/2019 5.10 Common Misunderstandgs

    8/12

    y The WTO does NOT destroyjobs or widen the gapbetween rich and poor

    y The accusation is inaccurateand simplistic. Trade can be apowerful force for creatingjobs and reducing poverty.Often it does just that.Sometimes adjustments arenecessary to deal with job

    losses, and here the picture iscomplicated. In any case, thealternative of protectionism isnot the solution.

  • 8/9/2019 5.10 Common Misunderstandgs

    9/12

    y Small countries are NOT powerless in theWTO.

    y Small countries would be weaker withoutthe WTO. The WTO increases theirbargaining power.

    y In short, in the WTO trading system,everyone has to follow the same rules.

    y In the WTOs dispute settlementprocedure, developing countries havesuccessfully challenged some actionstaken by developed countries. Withoutthe WTO, these smaller countries wouldhave been powerless to act against theirmore powerful trading partners.

    y Everyone has to follow the same rules

  • 8/9/2019 5.10 Common Misunderstandgs

    10/12

    y The WTO is NOT thetool of powerfullobbies

    y The WTO system offersgovernments a means toreduce the influence of

    narrow vested interests.

  • 8/9/2019 5.10 Common Misunderstandgs

    11/12

    y Weaker countries do have achoice, they are NOT forced to

    join the WTO

    y Most countries do feel that its

    better to be in the WTO systemthan to be outside it. Thats whythe list of countries negotiatingmembership includes both largeand small trading nations.

    y B

    y joining the WTO

    , smallcountries can also increase theirbargaining power by formingalliances with other countriesthat have common interests.

  • 8/9/2019 5.10 Common Misunderstandgs

    12/12

    y Decisions in the WTO are generallyby consensus.

    y In principle, thats even moredemocratic than majority rule

    because no decision is taken untileveryone agrees.

    y It would be wrong to suggest that

    every country has the same

    bargaining power. ,

    the consensus rule means everycountry has a voice, and everycountry has to be convinced beforeit joins a consensus.


Recommended