The International Trade Organization And The Reconstruction Of World Trade

If ever there existed a benign-sounding organisation, it is surely the World Trade Organisation. The WTO is the successor to GATT. According to the WTO itself, its mission is "dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, the legal ground-rules for international commerce and for trade policy. The agreements have three main objectives: to help trade flow as freely as possible; to achieve further liberalisation gradually through negotiation; and to set up an impartial means of settling disputes". This book seeks to illuminate some key issues related to the WTO as well as present a detailed bibliography for future reference.

First published in 1941, The Reconstruction of World Trade analyses the collapse of the international trading model after the First World War; the challenges presented by totalitarian methods of bilateral trade, and the problems anticipated in the attempt to reconstruct world trade after the end of the Second World War. The author studies national economic policies of several countries to argue that while economic problems are not contained with national borders, these still are an outcome of conflicting national economic policies. This book will be of interest to students of history, political science and economy.

This comprehensive account of the establishment of the WTO focuses on those who shaped its creation as well as those who have influenced its evolution. It also examines trade negotiations, the WTO's dispute settlement role, the process of joining, and what lies ahead for the organization.

Two high-level commissions—the Sutherland report in 2004, and the Warwick Commission report in 2007—addressed the future of the World Trade Organization and made proposals for incremental reform. This book goes further; it explains why institutional reform of the WTO is needed at this critical juncture in world history and provides innovative, practical proposals for modernizing the WTO to enable it to respond to the challenges of the twenty-first century. Contributors focus on five critical areas: transparency, decision- and rule-making procedures, internal management structures, participation by non-governmental organizations and civil society, and relationships with regional trade agreements. Co-published with the International Development Research Centre and the Centre for International Governance Innovation

New to this edition.

Lovett (Tulane Law School), Eckes (a former commissioner of the U.S. International Commission during the Reagan and Bush I administrations), and Brinkman (international economics, Portland State U.) evaluate the evolution of U.S. trade policy, focusing on the period from the establishment of the Gen