4. Whose wto is it anyway?

MEMBERSHIP

The WTO is run by its member governments. All major decisions are

made by the membership as a whole, either by ministers (who meet at

least once every two years) or by their ambassadors or delegates (who

meet regularly in Geneva). Decisions are normally taken by consensus.

In this respect, the WTO is different from some other international

organizations such as the World Bank and International Monetary

Fund. In the WTO, power is not delegated to a board of directors or the

organization’s head.

When WTO rules impose disciplines on countries’ policies, that is the

outcome of negotiations among WTO members. The rules are enforced

by the members themselves under agreed procedures that they

negotiated, including the possibility of trade sanctions. But those

sanctions are imposed by member countries, and authorized by the

membership as a whole. This is quite different from other agencies

whose bureaucracies can, for example, influence a country’s policy by

threatening to withhold credit.

Reaching decisions by consensus among some 150 members can be

difficult. Its main advantage is that decisions made this way are more

acceptable to all members.

And despite the difficulty, some remarkable agreements have been

reached. Nevertheless, proposals for the creation of a smaller executive

body – perhaps like a board of directors each representing different

groups of countries – are heard periodically.

But for now, the WTO is a member-driven, consensus-based

organization.

So, the WTO belongs to its members. The countries make their

decisions through various councils and committees, whose membership

consists of all WTO members. Topmost is the ministerial conference

which has to meet at least once every two years. The Ministerial

Conference can take decisions on all matters under any of the

multilateral trade agreements.

24

Membership

All members have joined the system as a result of negotiation and

therefore membership means a balance of rights and obligations. They

enjoy the privileges that other member countries give to them and the

security that the trading rules provide. In return, they had to make

commitments to open their markets and to abide by the rules – those

commitments were the result of the membership (or “accession”)

negotiations. Countries negotiating membership are WTO “observers”.

How to join the WTO: the accession process

Any state or customs territory having full autonomy in the conduct of

its trade policies may join (“accede to”) the WTO, but WTO members

must agree on the terms. Broadly speaking the application goes through

four stages:

· First, “tell us about yourself”. The government applying for

membership has to describe all aspects of its trade and economic

policies that have a bearing on WTO agreements. This is submitted to

the WTO in a memorandum which is examined by the working party

dealing with the country’s application. These working parties are open

to all WTO members.

· Second, “work out with us individually what you have to offer”.

When the working party has made sufficient progress on principles and

policies, parallel bilateral talks begin between the prospective new

member and individual countries. They are bilateral because different

countries have different trading interests. These talks cover tariff rates

and specific market access commitments, and other policies in goods

and services. The new member’s commitments are to apply equally to

all WTO members under normal non-discrimination rules, even though

they are negotiated bilaterally. In other words, the talks determine the

benefits (in the form of export opportunities and guarantees) other

WTO members can expect when the new member joins. (The talks can

be highly complicated. It has been said that in some cases the

negotiations are almost as large as an entire round of multilateral trade

negotiations.)

· Third, “let’s draft membership terms”. Once the working party has

completed its examination of the applicant’s trade regime, and the

parallel bilateral market access negotiations are complete, the working

25

party finalizes the terms of accession. These appear in a report, a draft

membership treaty (“protocol of accession”) and lists (“schedules”) of

the member-to-be’s commitments.

· Finally, “the decision”. The final package, consisting of the report,

protocol and lists of commitments, is presented to the WTO General

Council or the Ministerial Conference. If a two-thirds majority of WTO

members vote in favour, the applicant is free to sign the protocol and to

accede to the organization. In many cases, the country’s own

parliament or legislature has to ratify the agreement before membership

is complete.

TASKS

Task 1. Transcribe and pronounce:

Ambassador, authorized, bureaucracy, discipline, to withhold

committee, multilateral memorandum, bilateral, guarantee, legislature,

regime.

Task 2. Match the words with their translations:

1. ambassador

2. outcome

3. negotiations

4. to impose

5. to enforce

6. sanction

7. to withhold

8. council

9. topmost

10. commitment

11. autonomy

12. to submit

13. bilateral

14. regime

15. accession

16. protocol

17. legislature

18. to accede

26

a) самый важный

b) обязательство

c) облагать (налогом и т.п.); налагать (ограничения, штраф)

d) принимать (должность и т.п.); вступать

e) независимость, самоуправление

f) вступление (в должность, на престол и т.п.)

g) власть, система, строй

h) принуждать, обязывать

i) отказывать (в чем-л.); останавливать, удерживать

j) посол, посланец, вестник; представитель

k) указ, постановление, директива

l) совет (орган государственной власти)

m) исход, итог, последствие, результат

n) переговоры

o) двусторонний

p) документ, письменное свидетельство чего-л.

q) законодательная власть; законодательные учреждения

r) представлять на рассмотрение, предлагать (свое мнение и т.п.)

Task 3. Make up 4 types of questions to the text. Be ready to answer

them.

General question – Do you like to drive?

Special question – What is the time?

Alternative question – What would you like to drink tea or coffee?

Tag question – He saw a man, didn’t he?

Ex.: Is the WTO run by its member governments or by the WTO

employees?

Task 4. Fill in the spaces with the appropriate words in their proper

form:

to be imposed by, to be run by, to be made by, to make through, to be

taken by, to be enforced by, to belong to, to abide by, to agree on, to go

through, to impose on.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

The WTO … its member governments.

All major decisions … the membership.

Decisions … normally … consensus.

WTO rules … disciplines … countries’ policies.

The rules … the members themselves under agreed procedures.

27

6. But those sanctions … member countries.

7. The WTO … its members.

8. The countries … their decisions …various councils and

committees.

9. They had to make commitments to open their markets and to …

the rules

10. WTO members must … the terms.

11. Broadly speaking the application… four stages.

Task 5. Make up sentences in the Present Passive tense using the

following word combinations:

In this respect…

Despite the difficulty…

Nevertheless…

Broadly speaking …

In other words…

In many cases…

Task 6. A Role Play. WTO members have come together to discuss

the following agenda: the accession of the Russian Federation to the

WTO. Go through all the stages of the accession process.

Issues to discuss:









Political situation in the Caucasus and the Russian role in it;

Necessity of preparation for the accession to the WTO: to reduce

negative profits and to increase benefits;

Financial Crisis;

Disputes with Europe and the USA.

Participants:







The Chairman

The WTO members

The Russian government representatives

Use phrases from Appendix 1 while discussing.

Task 7. Working with countries

1. Write out European and South American countries in two columns.

2. Transcribe the countries. Pronounce them correctly.

28

3. Find capitals for each European country.

4. Dictation on Europe (South America).

Task 8. Prepare a presentation (PPT) about the WTO. You may speak

about:













the aim

the main functions

the structure

the principles

the accession stages

the agreements

Task 9. Prepare reports:

- The WTO. The agreements: agriculture, textile, services,

intellectual property.

- The WTO. Settling disputes. Case study.

- The WTO. The Doha agenda.

- The WTO. Developing countries.

- Internet task. Find out the last news of the WTO and prepare a

report. You may make use of the www.wto.org web-site.

29

CURRENT WTO MEMBERS

153 governments, since July 2008, with date of membership (“g” = the

51 original GATT members who joined after 1 January 1995; “n” =

new members joining the WTO through a working party negotiation):

Albania 8 September 2000

(n)

Angola 1 December 1996

(g)

Antigua and Barbuda 1

January 1995

Argentina 1 January 1995

Armenia 5 February 2003

(n)

Australia 1 January 1995

Austria 1 January 1995

Bahrain 1 January 1995

Bangladesh 1 January 1995

Barbados 1 January 1995

Belgium 1 January 1995

Belize 1 January 1995

Benin 22 February 1996 (g)

Bolivia 13 September 1995

(g)

Botswana 31 May 1995 (g)

Brazil 1 January 1995

Brunei Darussalam 1

January 1995

Bulgaria 1 December 1996

(n)

Burkina Faso 3 June 1995

(g)

Burundi 23 July 1995 (g)

Cambodia 13 October 2004

(n)

Cameroon 13 December

1995 (g)

Canada 1 January 1995

Cape Verde 23 July 2008

Central African Republic

31 May 1995 (g)

Chad 19 October 1996 (g)

Chile 1 January 1995

China 11 December 2001

(n)

Colombia 30 April 1995 (g)

30

Congo 27 March 1997 (g)

Costa Rica 1 January 1995

Cóte d’Ivoire 1 January

1995

Croatia 30 November 2000

(n)

Cuba 20 April 1995 (g)

Cyprus 30 July 1995 (g)

Czech Republic 1 January

1995

Democratic Republic of

the Congo 1 January 1997

(g)

Denmark 1 January 1995

Djibouti 31 May 1995 (g)

Dominica 1 January 1995

Dominican Republic 9

March 1995 (g)

Ecuador 21 January 1996

(n)

Egypt 30 June 1995 (g)

El Salvador 7 May 1995

(g)

Estonia 13 November 1999

(n)

European Communities 1

January 1995

Fiji 14 January 1996 (g)

Finland 1 January 1995

Former Yugoslav

Republic of

Macedonia 4 April 2003

(n)

France 1 January 1995

Gabon 1 January 1995

Gambia 23 October 1996

(g)

Georgia 14 June 2000 (n)

Germany 1 January 1995

Ghana 1 January 1995

Greece 1 January 1995

Grenada 22 February 1996

(g)

Guatemala 21 July 1995

(g)

Guinea Bissau 31 May

1995 (g)

Guinea 25 October 1995

(g)

Guyana 1 January 1995

Haiti 30 January 1996 (g)

Honduras 1 January 1995

Hong Kong, China 1

January 1995

Hungary 1 January 1995

Iceland 1 January 1995

India 1 January 1995

Indonesia 1January 1995

Ireland 1 January 1995

Israel 21 April 1995 (g)

Italy 1 January 1995

Jamaica 9 March 1995 (g)

Japan 1 January 1995

Jordan 11 April 2000 (n)

Kenya 1 January 1995

Korea 1 January 1995

Kuwait 1 January 1995

Kyrgyz Republic 20

December 1998 (n)

Latvia 10 February 1999

(n)

Lesotho 31 May 1995 (g)

Liechtenstein 1 September

1995 (g)

Lithuania 31 May 2001 (n)

Luxembourg 1 January

1995

Macao, China 1 January

1995

Madagascar 17 November

1995 (g)

Malawi 31 May 1995 (g)

Malaysia 1 January 1995

Maldives 31 May 1995 (g)

Mali 31 May 1995 (g)

Malta 1 January 1995

Mauritania 31 May 1995

(g)

Mauritius 1 January 1995

Mexico 1 January 1995

Moldova 26 July 2001 (n)

Mongolia 29 January 1997

(n)

Morocco 1 January 1995

Mozambique 26 August

1995 (g)

Myanmar 1 January 1995

Namibia 1 January 1995

Netherlands – including

Netherlands Antilles 1

January 1995

Nepal 23 April 2004 (n)

New Zealand 1 January

1995

Nicaragua 3 September

1995 (g)

Niger 13 December 1996

(g)

Nigeria 1 January 1995

Norway 1 January 1995

Oman 9 November 2000

(n)

Pakistan 1 January 1995

Afghanistan

Algeria

Andorra

Azerbaijan

Bahamas

Belarus

Bhutan

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Comoros

Equatorial Guinea

Ethiopia

Panama 6 September 1997

(n)

Papua New Guinea 9 June

1996 (g)

Paraguay 1 January 1995

Peru 1 January 1995

Philippines 1 January 1995

Poland 1 July 1995 (g)

Portugal 1 January 1995

Qatar 13 January 1996 (g)

Romania 1 January 1995

Rwanda 22 May 1996 (g)

Saint Kitts and Nevis 21

February 1996 (n)

Saint Lucia 1 January 1995

Saint Vincent & the

Grenadines 1 January 1995

Saudi Arabia 11 December

2005

Senegal 1 January 1995

Sierra Leone 23 July 1995

(g)

Singapore 1 January 1995

Slovak Republic 1 January

1995

Slovenia 30 July 1995 (g)

Solomon Islands 26 July

1996 (g)

South Africa 1 January

1995

Spain 1 January 1995

OBSERVERS

Holy See (Vatican)

Iran

Iraq

Kazakhstan

Lao People's Democratic

Republic

Lebanese Republic

Libya

Montenegro

Republic of Liberia

Russian Federation

Sri Lanka 1 January 1995

Suriname 1 January 1995

Swaziland 1 January 1995

Sweden 1 January 1995

Switzerland 1 July 1995 (g)

Chinese Taipei 1 January

2002 (n)

Tanzania 1 January 1995

Thailand 1 January 1995

Togo 31 May 1995 (g)

Trinidad and Tobago 1

March 1995 (g)

Tonga 27 July 2007

Tunisia 29 March 1995 (g)

Turkey 26 March 1995 (g)

Uganda 1 January 1995

Ukraine 16 May 2008

United Arab Emirates 10

April 1996 (g)

United Kingdom 1 January

1995

United States 1 January

1995

Uruguay 1 January 1995

Venezuela 1 January 1995

Viet Nam 11 January 2007

Zambia 1 January 1995

Zimbabwe 3 March 1995

(g)

Samoa

Sao Tome and Principe

Serbia

Seychelles

Sudan

Tajikistan

Uzbekistan