{"id":132682,"date":"2018-08-27T20:01:07","date_gmt":"2018-08-28T00:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.countingpips.com\/?p=132682"},"modified":"2018-08-27T20:01:07","modified_gmt":"2018-08-28T00:01:07","slug":"has-the-wto-become-obsolete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/2018\/08\/has-the-wto-become-obsolete\/","title":{"rendered":"Has the WTO Become Obsolete?"},"content":{"rendered":"
August 27, 2018<\/div>
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By\u00a0Amram<\/span>\u00a0Margalit<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 Leverate<\/strong><\/p>\n

With its 25<\/b><\/strong>th<\/b><\/sup><\/strong>\u00a0anniversary just around the corner, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is facing many challenges. A looming trade war between two economic superpowers has stirred up questions of the organization\u2019s effectiveness and viability. Has the WTO indeed become obsolete?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

Open for business since January 1st<\/sup>, 1995, when it was ratified by 124 participant governments, the establishment of the WTO marked a significant milestone in international trading history. The organization, which is now supported by 164-member countries, replaced the outdated, and negatively titled General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was established just after World War 2, in 1948. The new organization was to focus on trade through the regulation of goods, services, and intellectual property, rather than on sanctions. The WTO\u2019s modus operandi was to prohibit discrimination between trading partners except when trade might impinge on matters of environment or national security. It is now the largest economic organization in the world.<\/p>\n

What was perhaps not predicted by the original WTO architects was the power of national interests that might prevent certain member states from abiding by the organization\u2019s charter. Such actions became particularly prevalent among nations that have become economic powerhouses. One of the key states that has been accused of not playing by the rules is China, whose policies of domestic subsidies and the flouting of intellectual property rights has become widespread. While many nations, particularly those in Europe, have been uneasy with this predicament, few have taken any action. Across the Atlantic, the situation has not been so acquiescent.<\/p>\n

After President Trump took his oath of office, he immediately set his eyes on the US economy, and its trade imbalance with the People\u2019s Republic of China. 18 months after becoming President, his advisors proposed a range of sanctions on China that would seek to redress the trade balance between the two countries. A trade war between the two giant economic superpowers was never likely to win much international support, and the sanctions have yet to bite.<\/p>\n

But the actions committed by the Chinese government are hardly original. During the 18th<\/sup>\u00a0and 19th<\/sup>\u00a0centuries, the US as well as many European states employed the selfsame activities. China\u2019s economic policies are simply aimed at claiming its portion of 21st<\/sup>\u00a0century prosperity. These policies have seen significant reduction in poverty among China\u2019s huge population, as well as healthy growth of the Chinese middle class and an inevitable increase in demand for western goods. And, just as American and European states promoted their own self-interests through subsidies on aircraft and automobile manufacturing during the latter half of the 20th<\/sup>\u00a0century, so China is promoting similar actions 50 years later.<\/p>

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Rather than the expected convergence of trade practices as envisioned by the original designers of the WTO, individual member states have tended to promote their own agendas in line with their own domestic requirements. This is particularly so when considering the effect on domestic labor and fiscal policies set by member states. As such, rather than pushing for further sanctions, the WTO should recognize the inevitable diversity of global economic policy and build those forces into its international mandate.<\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Amram<\/span>\u00a0Margalit<\/span>\u00a0is a professional writer who has worked in a wide range of settings, including technology companies, nonprofits, and the entertainment industry. Within these positions,\u00a0Amram<\/span>\u00a0has provided quality content and advertising services and is currently the Content Manager at\u00a0Leverate<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Amram\u00a0Margalit\u00a0\u2013 Leverate With its 25th\u00a0anniversary just around the corner, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is facing many challenges. A looming trade war between two economic superpowers has stirred up questions of the organization\u2019s effectiveness and viability. Has the WTO indeed become obsolete? Open for business since January 1st, 1995, when it was ratified by 124 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","no-post-thumbnail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132682"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132683,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132682\/revisions\/132683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}