Proposals to reform the WTO are not new, but in Chapter 4, Wilkinson criticizes previous proposals for failing to question the fundamental tenets of the system. Part Two of the book examines possible solutions. Wilkinson argues the language used to discuss trade precludes progressive debate about the WTO and that as a result stories about the WTO are not objective accounts but encase a political purpose. This point leads to Chapter 3, an unusual chapter which discusses the power and influence of language. In particular, he aptly highlights the unequal status in the economic weight and bargaining capacity of states, demonstrated in the volume and value of trade each state has, as well as by the quality and size of their WTO representation.Īccording to Wilkinson, a natural consequence of the bargaining of unequals is a brand of politics governed by heightened contestation and drama. He posits that asymmetric bargains have come about because competitive negotiating among unequals has become installed in the machinery of trade governance. To demonstrate further how asymmetrical outcomes are produced, in Chapter 2 Wilkinson argues that the primary and constitutive principle of the global trade regime’s order is competition. He also demonstrates how throughout the WTO’s history, tactics have been used to directly or indirectly prevent developing countries from competing in the global marketplace or fully participating in the negotiating process. He presents an institutional history of the WTO demonstrating how GATT was drafted as a mercantilist instrument that not only reflected the trade requirements of its principal architect, the US, but was crafted to fit around existing US commercial methods, legal frameworks, styles of negotiating and economic ideas – therefore reflecting US ideational, as well as commercial influences. Wilkinson therefore begins by analysing the existing form of trade governance and asking why it has persisted. Key to Wilkinson’s argument is the premise that inequity in the international trade system between countries at different stages of development has existed since the conception of the current trade system. Both sections are sub-divided into three chapters, with each chapter developing a theme to establish and support Wilkinson’s argument: that the international trade system needs to be rebuilt in a way that enables trade-led growth to occur in a manner that offers equity of opportunity for all. This book is a short accessible read consisting of two sections taking their names from the book’s title. Notwithstanding the practicalities of this suggestion, posing the question as to how the WTO should be designed from scratch prompts an interesting debate to the purpose and function of the WTO, both as a stand-alone institution, and contextualized within the global economy. However, in What’s Wrong with the WTO,Wilkinson advances an argument that is seldom heard in debate about the WTO and international trade: that the system should be completely dismantled and rebuilt. A professor of international political economy, Wilkinson’s previous works on the trade system and governance are extensive.
#Not even wrong book how to
It is against this backdrop that Rorden Wilkinson’s latest book, What’s Wrong with the WTO and How to Fix It, has emerged.
While this may reflect an asymmetrical world, concerns remain that the effects of the WTO need to be moderated to prevent the consolidation, and in some cases perpetuation, of inequities in opportunities between countries. The WTO and its predecessor GATT have been criticized for imposing an asymmetrical global trade regime that predominantly has had a negative impact on developing countries. What’s Wrong with the WTO and How to Fix It. Rorden Wilkinson. This thought-provoking book is highly recommended for anyone with an interest in global trade, international relations or politics, writes Elaine Kellman.
Rorden Wilkinson argues that the WTO to be transformed into an institution and a form of trade governance that fulfils its real potential and serves the needs of all.