World Trade Organization (WTO) provides certain rules to control the trade flow between the countries. The regulation receives priority because of the globalization process. The main purpose of the WTO creation was to secure and provide the nations with a reliable trading process. The WTO is a unique trading company that secures the actions of customers and suppliers. The paper is focused on the evaluation of the reason for the creation of the union, balance, and challenges that the WTO faces nowadays. The deeper involvement in the issue will provide a better understanding of how the process of globalization changes the modern world and why the trade should be controlled by the organization.
The result of the regulation provides the countries with several benefits. First and foremost, the laws make the trade more peaceful and safe. Every decision made in the WTO should be discussed and ratified by the parliament. Eliminating the barriers in terms of international trade, the WTO contributes to fading the obstacle in communication and collaboration between different nations. The organization is primarily focused on the multilateral system of commerce.
The liberalization of trade seems to be the essential element in the modern globalized world1. As the countries are getting closer, there is a high demand for control of the safety of trading operations. The negotiations are fundamental for solving the issue, and that is, the WTO creates different meetings and forums to discuss and try to find the solution to the challenges the countries face. The WTO was designed for negotiations.
Meetings and discussions help to eliminate trading barriers and find the solution to the most challenging and demanding problems. However, it is worth stating, that the primary objective of the WTO is not only to liberalize the trade process but to prevent nations from the threat of diseases. The set of rules are transparent and aim to secure the countries from the difficulties of international trade. The principal objective is to make trade free and smooth and prevent the nations from the side-effects.
Dealing with disputes is the next reason for WTO creation. When there are so many countries work together for the establishment of prolific relationships, disputes and misunderstandings cannot be eliminated. Conflicting interests is another problem that the WTO is facing.
The prototype of the WTO was GATT the emerged after the Second World War2. The fundamental aim was to create a multilateral organization that will secure international economic collaboration. The countries wanted to boost trade, and it demanded the control of the operation. The WTO was created in 1995. However, the system emerged fifty years earlier. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) aimed to generate a set of rules for the future system3. The General Agreement was dealing with the unofficial international organization that after the Uruguay Round (1986-1994) resulted in the WTO creation.
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According to the information provided by the WTO, the process of trade liberalization had a positive impact on global revenue. Even though the WTO is a successful organization that meets the objectives, the organization still faces challenges that need to be taken into consideration. The most evident problem is that the Doha Development Round aims to reform the functioning of the WTO. The negotiations are taken place to solve the problem concerning the cooperation with the developed and developing countries.
The negotiating has been lasting for more than ten years. The result is the following, namely the reduction of the trade barriers in the area of agriculture and service. The Doha Development Round is focused on allowing developing countries to be able to compete in the world market. The issues are significant to solve as the developing countries can beneficially affect the GDP. According to recent statistics, the GDP can increase by almost 200 billion dollars a year. To discover and explore new markets, the organization is now addressing to free trade agreements. Although the WTO takes actions to eliminate the challenges, it should be pointed out that it does not pay enough attention to the security of food products, peculiarities of the imbalance of the global trade and environmental shifts.
To improve international trade, the WTO helps the developing countries to enter the world’s market and compete with the developed countries. The lower price seems to be the best competitive advantage that the developing countries can provide.
According to Roberto Azevedo, the director of the WTO, society is facing certain changes:
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We have entered a new era in the link between trade and development. Driven in large part by trade, some developing economies have made remarkable progress in recent years, but much still needs to be done to close the gap for many poor economies4.
Trade becomes the guiding power and engine that stimulates changes in the twenty-first century as the potential of international trade should not be undervalued. That is the functioning, and high performance of the WTO gains momentum and should receive priority. The countries should get deeper involved in the challenges that the WTO and, in particular, developing countries face to take advantage of the situation and increase the global income. The trade opened new opportunities and possibilities for developing countries to achieve progress and success. With the discovery of the new markets, the countries receive the perfect opportunity to improve economically.
The WTO provides the world with several benefits; among them are the following ones, namely the promotion of peace, ability to handle disputes, and control and guidance regarding the trade questions5. However, the stated above advantages of the WTO are not the only ones that are significant for the positive development of the countries. Moreover, the WTO improves trade, stimulates the growth of the economy, and encourages negotiations and finding a common sense.
The organization takes care of the smooth trade operations and helps countries to solve issues. These two approaches contribute to a peaceful environment. The misunderstanding between the countries and the inability to react appropriately to the problems can be the reason for the new war. In the 1930s, the countries aimed to protect domestic manufacturers and suppliers and raised barriers. It influenced the Great Depression and resulted in the Second World War.
To prevent the same cases in the future, the GATT was created and then transformed into the WTO that has an objective to save peace. In addition, the improvement of the trade relationship beneficially affects the unemployment rate as the countries with rapid economic development have more opportunities to create new workplaces. The technological advances contribute to the positive outcome for the employees. The improvement of the trading connections and ability to adjust to changes has a positive influence on the progress the county is making.
The WTO faces several challenges that are already discussed above; however, to get better involved in the issue, the question regarding the disputes should be taken into consideration6. First and foremost, the expansion of trade and liberalization of it opens new opportunities for the countries, and it results in an increasing amount of different conflicts and misunderstandings. Due to the WTO, the vast majority of disputes are solved with ease.
The countries address to the organization, and the WTO is responsible for solving the issues. It should be pointed out that the countries did not have this opportunity before the Second World War. When the organization receives the dispute, it acts following the rules. In this case, the country is not satisfied with the decision made by the WTO; there is an opportunity to go through the process of negotiations. There is no need to outbreak the war to fight for the trading interests as the WTO aims to solve all the trading problems.
The significance of the functioning of the WTO should not be undervalued. Since 1995, almost four hundred disputes were solved due to the professionals that work for the organization7. Without the body that could solve the issues, it would be rather difficult to tackle the problems, and they could transform into political conflicts between the countries. The number of disputes does not prove the political or economic tension; moreover, it shows that the globalization process gains momentum, and there are not so many barriers that influence the trading process.
The WTO aims to balance the international trade8. It should be stressed that the organization successfully performs the goal and takes all the needed actions to improve the situation of global trade on the market. The agreements and negotiations are an essential part of the work of the organization that contributes to better outcomes.
In conclusion, it should be stressed that the creation of WTO was the result of the globalization process and the demand to make trading operations between the countries more secure and safe. It is worth stating that the regulations and negotiations are the main tools that the organization uses to achieve the objectives. The question regarding the benefit the developing countries may bring to the global revenue remains open. The WTO helps developing countries to integrate into international trade and be able to compete in the global market. The organization takes appropriate methods of dealing with the issue and aims to improve the wellbeing of every member of the WTO. The pivotal purpose of the WTO is to provide safety for every nation as trade can become the reason for future political or military conflict.
The modern world needs organizations like WTO to regulate and coordinate the trade flow. The piece of the countries is dependent on the decisions made by the organization.
Bibliography
Ahearn, Raymond, and Ian Fergusson. World Trade Organization (WTO): Issues in the Debate on Continued U.S. Participation. Washington: Congressional Research Service, 2010.
Davey, William. Non-discrimination in the World Trade Organization: The Rules and Exceptions. Hague: Ail-Pocket, 2012.
Davis, Christina. Why Adjudicate?: Enforcing Trade Rules in the WTO. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012.
Ezeani, Elimma. The WTO and Its Development Obligation: Prospects for Global Trade. London: Anthem Press, 2010.
Hufbauer, Gary, and Cathleen Cimino. “What Future for the WTO?” The International Trade Journal 27, no. 5 (2013): 394-410.
Matsushita, Mitsuo. “A View on Future Roles of The WTO: Should There Be More Soft Law in The WTO.” Journal of International Economic Law 17, no. 3 (2014): 701-715.
Mossner, Louise. “The WTO and Regional Trade: A Family Business? The WTO Compatibility of Regional Trade Agreements with Non-WTO-members.” World Trade Review 13, no. 04 (2014): 633-649.
Rolland, Sonia. Development at the World Trade Organization. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Footnotes
- Raymond Ahearn and Ian Fergusson, World Trade Organization (WTO): Issues in the Debate on Continued U.S. Participation (Washington: Congressional Research Service, 2010), 193.
- Christina Davis, Why Adjudicate?: Enforcing Trade Rules in the WTO (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012), 37.
- William Davey, Non-discrimination in the World Trade Organization: The Rules and Exceptions (Hague: Ail-Pocket, 2012), 13.
- Elimma Ezeani, The WTO and Its Development Obligation: Prospects for Global Trade (London: Anthem Press, 2010), 53.
- Sonia Rolland, Development at the World Trade Organization (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 52.
- Mitsuo Matsushita, “A View on Future Roles of The WTO: Should There Be More Soft Law in The WTO,” Journal of International Economic Law 17, no. 3 (2014): 704.
- Louise Mossner, “The WTO and Regional Trade: A Family Business? The WTO Compatibility of Regional Trade Agreements with Non-WTO-members,” World Trade Review 13, no. 04 (2014): 655.
- Gary Hufbauer and Cathleen Cimino, “What Future for the WTO?” The International Trade Journal 27, no. 5 (2013): 396.