Study explores ways to improve poorer nations’ participation in WTO
The Geneva Trade and Development Forum (GTDF) has presented the results of a policy brief on ways to improve the participation of weaker and poorer countries in WTO negotiations.
The policy brief titled: “Developing Country Coalitions in the World Trade Organisation (WTO): Improving the participation of the WTO’s Weakest and Poorest Members” was authored by Dr Carolyn Deere Birkbeck, an Economist and a Consultant.
This was preceded by the GTDF’s “Inclusive International Trade Architecture” initiative, which started a reflection on the functioning of the WTO at an informal mini-ministerial meeting on November 30, 2009.
The Geneva Group of Ambassadors decided to focus the work on the issue of coalitions with an analysis based on consultations with various stakeholders and the review of the scholarly literature in June 2010.
The paper explored what was known about when and how coalitions were effective.
It reviewed perceptions about the effectiveness of different coalitions in enhancing the representation and participation of developing countries in WTO decision-making, and their impact on outcomes, with any eye to yielding lessons for the weakest, smallest and poorest WTO members.
It also addressed the following questions – what factors help coalitions work effectively and what would help the weakest and poorest WTO Members achieve greater impact through coalitions.
The paper again explored the different strategies and tactics needed in the agenda-setting and negotiating phases of negotiations as compared to the final deal-making phase and what level of resources and energy to devote to different kinds of coalitions as well as where their participation most likely to generate impact on negotiations.
It reviewed the challenges facing small and poor states in multilateral trade negotiations and the evolution of developing country engagement in coalitions. It also introduced the typology of different coalitions used in this paper.
It highlighted variations in regard to their purpose, composition, and negotiating strategies of coalitions, their degree of external support, internal coordination, and selection process for leadership and representation.
The paper summarized some of the challenges that the WTO’s weakest, smallest and poorest members face in their participation in and use of coalitions.
It explored perspectives on the performance of different kinds of coalitions and the factors that explained perceived success stories.
The paper sets out options and recommendations for consideration by developed and developing countries WTO Members and the WTO Secretariat.
The GTDF governance initiative is working with a network of stakeholders from developed and developing countries to further strengthen the paper and build on its main findings and recommendations.
It plans on discussing it with the Young Wolves and the Geneva Group of Ambassadors, after the summer break to elaborate concrete proposals to be submitted to a group of Ministers at the Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference in December.
The governance initiative and current activities have been launched under the GTDF project and funded by several donors in particular SECO, the AgenceFrançaise de Dévelopement and the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.
Source: GNA