Saving the world trade organization is the task
Two decades ago, about 50 thousand demonstrators gathered in the American city of Seattle to express their anger at the economic and environmental policies of the World Trade Organization, which was held at that time an important meeting to discuss the increase in hegemony over the flowing world economy, and the "Battle of Seattle" protests, which Peaceful, and within five days it turned into violent confrontations, began to strengthen negotiators in developing countries, who gradually deviated from the path of the organization's plans for expansion and hegemony.
With the passage of time, the organization's adherence to the model of excessive globalization led to a violent reaction, and it became just around the corner from imminent dramatic collapse, especially after the United States decided to target the Dispute Settlement Body by blocking the appointment of new judges, and in light of the restlessness of some countries imposing rules that the organization believes They suit everyone, and global markets prefer them, while their critics see them as dangerous rules that restrain some governments in meeting the needs of their societies.
Certainly, the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, which led to unprecedented disruption in supply chains and global trade movement, makes the task of reforming the organization as a "protector" of the multilateral trading system, more urgent now to maintain the flow of goods and commodities. However, the passage of those reforms that have become A demand that has a rare international consensus that is likely not to take place before the next conference of the organization, which is expected to be held in June 2021, and thus achieving reforms has become necessary, especially since the former Director-General Roberto Azevedo left early, leaving behind chaos, as the concerned parties in the organization could not Trade, that is, the world’s economies, from agreement on anything, including choosing one of his four deputies to be the transitional director-general, and therefore, the four representatives share that task.
The big dilemma is that the organization that was founded a quarter of a century ago was born before the age of the Internet, and this is why it did not take into account digital products, as trade is described in the organization’s literature with two elements: services and goods, and after them the movement of capital, and it does not include digital trade, and therefore it must include the organization A new product, which is a product of "knowledge", after the intellectual property has become at the present time one of the most important products of the contemporary world, and thus the idea of reforming the organization must be carried out by collective consensus, as it is the responsibility of the whole world, not one country.
The strange paradox is that despite the prominent US role in the WTO, one-third of the organization’s appeals have targeted US policies that have been proven to violate global trade laws, but this does not mean that America has not achieved victories over its trade competitors, as it has obtained judgments against Indian policies that The access of poor farmers to seeds, European restrictions on genetically modified foods, and the banning of industrial growth hormones in meat are encouraging, and the United States has also put tremendous pressure on Thailand, Brazil, and South Africa to change its policies regarding access to AIDS drugs and other life-saving drugs.
Remarkably, since the establishment of the WTO in 1995, its supporters have raised promises of astonishing economic gains. So much so that former US President Bill Clinton assured that the organization will provide the American family with an additional income of about $ 1,700 annually, and will facilitate his country's entry to the open market, and will reduce the trade deficit for Americans, and will provide new job opportunities with remunerative salaries, and will bring more wealth, but the simple truth is that the rules The organization was never designed to fulfill these unfulfilled promises.
The domination of corporate interests over commercial negotiations, the exclusion of workers and consumers, and the review of environmental issues constituted a fatal mistake in the work of the organization, as it did not have an agenda bearing any labor or environmental requirements to raise salaries or reduce pollution, or it did not set a minimum standard for consumer safety, and it failed In implementing rules controlling the work of large monopolistic companies that distort global markets, and they have repeatedly neglected the fight against currency manipulation that brought unfair trade advantages to some countries.
During the OIC's quarter-century era, developed countries lost millions of industrial jobs, whose owners receive high salaries, especially after China formally joined the organization in 2001, which greatly increased income inequality between rich and poor countries, despite the awareness of all countries. Due to the size of the challenges facing the organization, the question that resonates among all economists and observers remains: Will the organization really take necessary reforms to save itself from collapse? Therefore, the main task of the next general manager of the organization is to rebuild confidence among all trade parties, and he will have to stress, However, the organization is doing useful work for humanity, and it is not biased towards any country.