WTO Crisis as Manifestation of Globalization Crisis

2362
DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2019-63-6-5-12

V. Zagashvili (zagashvili@imemo.ru),
Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO), 23, Profsoyuznaya Str., Moscow, 117997, Russian Federation

Abstract. The present crisis of globalization, which has found one of its manifestations in the crisis of the multilateral trading system, is a growth crisis that arose during the restructuring of the international economic regime. The need for such restructuring is due to the development of transnational production, the deepening of economic interdependence and the weakening of the US as the leader of the world economy. The international economic regime is understood as a system of rules for international economic interaction, including both these rules themselves and the mechanisms that ensure their establishment and implementation. The theory of hegemonic stability, which explained the development of the international economic regime in the past century, in the present century gives way to the theory of interdependence, especially complex interdependence. China will not replace the United States as a guarantor of the stability of the international economic system, not because it is not ready or not capable, but because the new economy needs a new regime that meets the needs of the global market. The US is withdrawing from the role of the guarantor of stability not only because they feel weak relative to their competitors but also because no country is able to play this role in the conditions of growing globalization. As interdependence deepens the stability of the international economic regime will increasingly rely on a system of global governance. The main elements of this system that emerged at the previous stage will undergo changes which are already partly occurring in the IMF, the World Bank and the global financial architecture as a whole. The WTO also needs to be reformed. The most obvious steps of WTO transformation include abandoning the consensus and single undertaking principles in decision-making, enhancing the role of plurilateral agreements, revising the special and differential treatment provisions, expanding the scope of issues beyond traditional trade, harmonizing between the WTO legal system and new norms introduced by mega-regional agreements. The growing complexity of interdependence increases the need for coordination not only between countries, but also between major interest groups, as well as elements of the system of global governance. It seems appropriate to ensure a coherent and coordinated process of transformation of the WTO, the IMF and other parts of the system of global governance. There is a demand for transparent mechanisms that allow to represent interests of transnational businesses, wage earners, consumers and representatives of other participants of the social contract that is to be transformed with the growth of globalization.

Keywords: globalization, international economic regime, international trade, multilateral trade negotiations, Doha round, trade policy, mega-regional trade agreements, World Trade Organization (WTO)


REFERENCES

1. World Trade Statistical Review 2018. World Trade Organization. Geneva, 2018. 209 p. Available at: https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/wts2018_e/wts18_toc_e.htm (accessed 24.02.2019).

2. Stiglitz J. Globalization and Its Discontents. New York, W. W. Norton & Comp., 2002. 304 p.

3. Shafik N. A New Social Contract. Finance & Development, December 2018, vol. 55, no. 4, pp. 4-8. Available at: https:// www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2018/12/pdf/lse-a-new-social-contract-shafik.pdf (accessed 24.02.2019).

4. Snidal D. The Limits of Hegemonic Stability Theory. International Organization, vol. 39, no. 4, 1985, pp. 579-614.

5. Ilgen Th. Autonomy and Interdependence: US – Western European Monetary and Trade Relations. Totowa, 1985. 166 p.

6. Zagashvili V. Ekonomicheskaya bezopasnost’ Rossii [Economic security of Russia]. Moscow, Yurist, 1997. 240 p.

7. Kindleberger Ch. The World in Depression, 1929–39. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1973. 336 p.

8. Bergsten C. China and the United States: Trade Conflict and Systemic Competition. Policy Brief, October 2018. Available at: https://piie.com/publications/policy-briefs/china-and-united-states-trade-conflict-and-systemic-competition (accessed 24.02.2019).

9. Model’ski D. Evolyutsiya global’noi politiki [The evolution of global politics]. Polis. Political studies, 2005, no. 3, pp. 62-82. DOI:10.17976/jpps/2005.03.06

10. Ramo J. The Beijing Consensus. London, The Foreign Policy Centre, 2004. 76 p. Available at: http://www.chinaelections. org/uploadfile/200909/20090918021638239.pdf (accessed 21.02.2019).

11. Shishkov Yu. Dogonyayushchee razvitie v epokhu globalizatsii [Catching up on globalization]. Moscow, VAVT, 2006. 242 p.

12. Baranovsky V., Ivanova N. Global’noe upravlenie: vozmozhnosti i riski [Global governance: opportunities and risks]. Moscow, IMEMO, 2015. 315 p. Available at: https://www.imemo.ru/index.php?page_id=645&id=3006 (accessed 24.02.2019).

13. Keohane R., Nye J. Power and Interdependence: World Politics in Transition. Boston, Little, Brown, 1977. 275 p.

14. Keohane R. After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord in World Political Economy. Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 1984. 312 p.

15. Krasner S. D. State Power and the Structure of International Trade. World Politics, 1976, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 317-347. DOI:10.2307/2009974

16. Gilman M. Razlichiya ekonomicheskikh rezul’tatov i izmenenie al’yansov v deglobaliziruyushchemsya mire [Divergent performance and shifting alliances in a deglobalizing world]. Vestnik mezhdunarodnykh organizatsii, 2018, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 7-16. Available at: https://iorj.hse.ru/2018-13-2/222793325.html (accessed 24.02.2019). DOI:10.17323/1996-7845-2018-02-01

17. Obolenskiy V. Ot legitimnogo protektsionizma k torgovym voinam? [From legitimate protectionism to trade wars?] Mirovaya ekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya, 2018, vol. 62, no. 9, pp. 18-25. DOI:10.20542/0131-2227-2018-62-9-18-25

18. Bown Ch., Irwin D. What Might a Trump Withdrawal from the World Trade Organization Mean for US Tariffs? Policy Brief. November 2018. Available at: https://piie.com/publications/policy-briefs/what-might-trump-withdrawal-world-trade-organization-mean-us-tariffs (accessed 21.02.2019).

19. The Global Risks Report 2018. Geneva, World Economic Forum, 2018. 68 p. Available at: http://reports.weforum.org/ global-risks‑2018 (accessed 21.02.2019).

20. 2018 Trade Policy Agenda and 2017 Annual Report of the President of the United States on the Trade Agreements Program. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). March 2018. Available at: https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/reports-and-publications/2018/2018-trade-policy-agenda-and-2017 (accessed 24.02.2019).

21. WTO Modernisation — Introduction to Future EU Proposals. 18 September 2018. Available at: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/ doclib/docs/2018/september/tradoc_157331.pdf (accessed 24.02.2019).

22. Portanskii A. P. Mnogostoronnyaya torgovaya sistema i perspektivy ee reformirovaniya [Multilateral trading system and the prospects for its reform]. Moscow, IMEMO, 2015. 151 p. Available at: https://www.imemo.ru/index.php?page_id=645&id=3011 (accessed 24.02.2019).

23. Lombaerde Ph., eds. Multilateralism, Regionalism and Bilateralism in Trade and Investment: 2006 World Report on Regional Integration. United Nations University Series on Regionalism. Springer, 2007. 277 p. DOI:10.1007/978-1-4020-5951-3

24. Baldwin R. WTO 2.0: Global Governance of Supply-Chain Trade. CEPR Policy Insight. 2012 (64), December. Available at: https://cepr.org/sites/default/files/policy_insights/PolicyInsight64.pdf (accessed 24.02.2019).

25. Nakatomi M. Global Value Chain Governance in the Era of Mega FTAs and a Proposal of an International Supply-Chain Agreement. 15 August 2013. Available at: https://voxeu.org/article/it-time-international-supply-chain-agreement (accessed 24.02.2019).

26. Bradlow D. Otsenka potentsiala reform sistemy global’nogo ekonomicheskogo upravleniya [Assessing the potential for global economic governance reform]. Vestnik mezhdunarodnykh organizatsii, 2018, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 213-236. Available at: https://iorj.hse.ru/2018-13-4/228933905.html (accessed 24.02.2019). DOI:10.17323/1996-7845-2018-04-10


Registered in System SCIENCE INDEX

For citation:
Zagashvili V. WTO Crisis as Manifestation of Globalization Crisis. World Eñonomy and International Relations, 2019, vol. 63, no. 6, pp. 5-12 . https://doi.org/10.20542/0131-2227-2019-63-6-5-12



Comments (0)

No comments

Add comment







Indexed

 

 

 

 

Dear authors! Please note that in the VAK List of peer-reviewed scientific journals, in which the main scientific results of dissertations for the degree of candidate and doctor of sciences should be published for the “MEMO Journal” the following specialties are recorded:
economic sciences:
5.2.5. World Economy.
5.2.1. Economic Theory
5.2.3. Regional and Branch Economics
political sciences:
5.5.4. International Relations
5.5.1. History and Theory of Politics
5.5.2. Political Institutions, Processes, Technologies

 

Current Issue
2024, vol. 68, No. 3
Topical Themes of the Issue:
  • Bretton Woods 2.0: Towards a New Global Financial Architecture
  • Transformation of the EU Political Party System on the Eve of the 2024 European Election
  • South Asia in Regional and World Politics
Submit an Article
INVITATION FOR PUBLICATION
The Editorial Board invites authors to write analytical articles on the following topics:
  • changes in the processes of globalization in modern conditions
  • formation of the new world order
  • shifts in civilization at the stage of transition to a digital society

The editors are also interested in publishing synthesis articles / scientific reviews revealing the main trends in the development of certain regions of the world - Latin America, Africa, South Asia, etc.