PowerPoint Presentation

By Mandi,Angelia,Carl and Corey

The WTO is Born Based on the need to build and expand on the already established foundation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT-which was established after World World II). The WTO was created on January 1, 1995 from the 1986-1994 Uruguay Round Negotiations. The focus of the negotiations was on the need to reduce tariffs and lower trade barriers, and the need to establish common rules and governance on the ever expanding global trade and international commerce on a larger scale.

WTO -What We Stand For The main purpose and goal of the WTO is to help trade move freely for all member nations so that each member country can increase the standard of living for the well-being for their citizens.

there is a video WTO TodayAs of November 30,2015, the WTO has expanded its membership to162 countries and has a budget of 197 million Swiss Francs(2014). The WTO has become the world's legislative and judicial body that rules on trade and negotiations disputes and is the only organization that can enforce sanctions within its own organization.

Coercion vs Rational Discourse Pt 1The Doha Development Agenda and subsequent Bali Package are an example of what happens when an organization does not use coercion tactics, but instead a rational discourse. The Doha Development Agenda was a proposal by rich countries to address global poverty.

Well, I use rational somewhat facetiously, as the actual negotiations in Cancun degenerated into a back-and-forth between rich and poor nations. When addressing global poverty, perhaps rich countries would be better off taking a back seat, as they may not have realistic ideas of how to counter something they may not know as much about.Problems with DohaNegotiations in Cancun stalled over agriculture, industrial tariffs and barriers to trade and services. Taking agriculture, for example, rich countries can afford to pay their farmers a subsidy in order to help them to continue farming. Poor countries are not able to pay this subsidy, but can protect their farmers by placing higher tariffs on agricultural goods. Rich countries stand by their subsidies, and so the negotiations ended in an impasse.

To put this into perspective, its estimated that a cow in the EU makes $2.20 a day in subsidies, this is more than 20% of workers in the world make per day. Following Cancun, the WTO entered into 12 years of negotiating to see if they could move forward on the Doha objectives of furthering trade liberalization and making the global market more accessible to developing nations.Doha to Bali PackageAfter 12 years of struggling with the Doha Development Agenda, the WTO was able to salvage parts of Doha including: trade facilitation, agriculture, and duty and quota-free market access for the least developed countries.In the Bali Package, agriculture is addressed with new disciplines on export subsidies and tariff rate quotas.

Perhaps Doha is a good example of what happens when well-meaning but misguided countries try to take their models and impose them upon others. In negotiating the Doha Agenda, the WTO did not have much clout in order to try coercion tactics. NegotiationsThe WTO has been primarily associated with resolving trade dispute agreements between member countries, even if the trade agreements were negotiated outside of the WTO. The Bali Package has made the WTO more credible, as it was the first multilateral trade agreement actually negotiated by the WTO.

The WTO seems to rely heavily on rational discourse in their negotiations of agreements, as they have limited power to coerce countries to comply with their plans. If they wish to continue to work toward their goal of international economy, they will need to address some of the other issues that have caused the Doha Agenda to be stalled. Coercion vs Rational Discourse Pt 2The WTO serves to replace coercion with rational discourse in two notable ways.First, the organization was created with the aim of ensuring that internationally agreed upon trade laws and regulations are being followed by all members. The WTO attempts to bring order and structure to international trade. This order limits the anarchy often associated with international relations and minimizes coercive methods to end disputes; even those disputes involving trade.

(WTO) Principles: equitable, fast, effective, mutually acceptableSecond, the organization puts a great deal of focus in settling trade disputes between countries. The WTO has the mandate to create an effective and efficient system for settling trade disputes between countries in a way that would be mutually agreed upon by all concerned members in the dispute. Serving as a neutral party to settle disputes through rational discourse also allows the WTO to reduce the perceived need for coercive action.

Bodies of Dispute SettlementDispute Settlement Body (DSB): Composed of governmental representatives that oversee the entire process of dispute settlement. Also has authority:- To establish panels for hearings- Adopt reports from Appellate and Panel bodies- Perform surveillance to ensure rulings and recommendations are being implemented by member countries.Decisions are often made through consensus. Panel or Appellate Body reports are often approved by the Dispute Settlement Body unless there is a consensus against the decisions made in the reports.

The structure of both the organization and its process for settling disputes illustrate the organizations aim to bring order to the international arena which is often viewed to be anarchic and more contributory to coercive means of resolving disputes among nations. Process of Dispute SettlementSettlements of the disputes are expected to be completed after one year without appeals and within one year and three months with appeals.First Stage: Countries in dispute try to settle the dispute themselves. The WTO Chairperson can mediate this process.Second Stage: A panel is appointed from the member countries. The panel then aids the DSB in making rulings.

Process of Dispute Settlement (cont.)A procedural series follows in which both sides present their case, experts are called, and a decision is reached by the panel and the DSB.Either side can call for an appeal. The case is then heard by an Appellate Body.In the event that a country is found liable in a dispute it is given recommendations and time to adjust its own trade policies in accordance with the decisions of the WTO. Compensation can also be given to the accusing member country.

RetaliationRetaliation is the final and most serious consequence a non-implementing Member faces in the WTO dispute settlement system. Although retaliation requires prior approval by the DSB, the countermeasures are applied selectively by one Member against another.The retaliation can take different forms, the most common is additional tariffs imposed against the offending country.

Retaliation ExamplesFor example, in the 1990s, the EU imposed a ban on importing beef containing artificial hormones. The US and Canada took the case to the DSB on the grounds that there was no established scientific reason for a health concern. In 1997 the DSB ruled in favor of the US and Canada. Subsequently, the US and Canada imposed $125 million in tariffs on goods imported from the EU.

Retaliation as CoercionBy allowing retaliation, even as a last resort, critics say the WTO still accepts the role of coercion in trade disputes.Coercion exists as the sword that ensures compliance.However, it is not often used and is not seen as a major factor in why nations comply with the WTO.

CriticismCommon criticism of the WTO states that it favors corporate profits over social, environmental, and labor concerns. By enabling retaliation in cases of trade disputes that arise because of health, environmental, and regulatory concerns within a sovereign country, critics claim the WTO serves corporate interests only.

Bibliography Heakal, Reem. "What Is the World Trade Organizatio." Investepedia. Accessed January 10, 2016. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/03/040203.a Accessed January 11, 2016. https://www.wto.org/index.htm. sp. Mohammed Aly Sergie, and Eben Kaplan. The World Trade Organization. Accessed January 10, 2016. http://www.cfr.org/international-organizations-and-alliances/world-trade-organization-wto/p9386#p4.

Bibliography Joshua P. Metler, The 2013 WTO Bali Ministerial: Prospects and New Horizons. Accessed January 10, 2016 http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2013/11/25-wto-bali-ministerial-meltzerWorld Trade Organization, Understanding the WTO: Settling Disputes. Accessed January 11, 2016. https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/disp1_e.htm.

BibliographyWorld Trade Organization, WTO Bodies Involved in Dispute Settlement. Accessed January 11, 2016. https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c3s1p1_e.htm; https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c6s10p1_e.htmPublic Citizen, World Trade Organization (WTO), Accessed January 11 2016, http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=758BibliographyRobert Z. Lawrence, The United States and the WTO Dispute Settlement Accessed January 11, 2016 https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=11&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjE5par2qDKAhWLbT4KHe0iAwY4ChAWCBswAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cfr.org%2Fcontent%2Fpublications%2Fattachments%2FWTO_CSR25.pdf&usg=AFQjCNHLRK8zJ85sfz_xRTbWgT_6bY4EgQ&bvm=bv.111396085,d.cWw