OUVRAGE : A. Kireyev, C. Osakwe (eds.), Trade Multilateralism in the Twenty-First Century: Building the Upper Floors of the Trading System through WTO Accessions

Alexei KIREYEV, Chiedu OSAKWE

Trade multilateralism, i.e. global trade based on negotiated and agreed rules by the World Trade Organization (WTO) membership, faces various challenges. Slow economic growth, changes in the balance of global economic power and inequitable distribution of growth beneits have called into question the beneits of globalization and the rules- based global order. Trade has been the target of a barrage of corrosive criticism from many quarters and has become a lightning rod for policy failures, weaknesses in international cooperation and the adverse efects of rapid technological advances on jobs and incomes. he return of ultra-nationalism, populism, mercantilism, bilateralism and protectionism in several countries has also increased the pressure on trade multilateralism. In this tortuous and uncertain environment, concerted policy actions along several strategic axes are needed to put trade back on track and make trade multilateralism equitable once again.

First, trade multilateralism must be used as a tool to restart global economic growth and job creation, while managing uncertainty and risks. Second, it must become more inclusive by encompassing bilateralism and regionalism, leveraging technology and supporting domestic structural reforms. hird, the new realities of the twenty- irst century compel an upgrade of the multilateral trading system by the building of its upper loors1 on the foundation of the existing trade rules and accumulated acquis and expertise. Such a system would preserve the fundamental set of rules at the core of the multilateral system, abolish or revise obsolete rules, which have not stood the test of time, and adopt new rules that would relect new realities. Fourth, accessions to the WTO are arguably the most vibrant component of the multilateral trading system and have already made important contributions to each of these policy directions. An updated and robust, rules- based multilateral framework, anchored in the WTO, remains indispensable to maximize the beneits of global economic integration and to ensure a stable global economic order.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword, Roberto Azevedo (WTO Director-General)

1. Alexei Kireyev, Chiedu Osakwe, Making Trade Multilateralism Work for All: the Role of WTO Accessions

PART I.
WTO ACCESSIONS AND THE NEW TRADE MULTILATERALISM

2. Alexei Kireyev, The WTO and the Changing State of the Global Economy
3. Micheline Calmy-Rey, Svenja Rauch, The Art and Science of Negotiation: De-politicizing and Technicizing Negotiations
4. Alexei Kireyev, Chiedu Osakwe, Anna Varyanik, The Accession of Kazakhstan: Dealing with Complexity
5. Arancha González, Helping Businesses Navigate WTO Accession
6. Maša Lekić, Chiedu Osakwe, WTO Rules, Accession Protocols and Mega-Regionals: Complementarity and Governance in the Rules-Based Global Economy
7. Juneyoung Lee, Nora Neufeld, Anna Varyanik, Promoting Good Governance: From Encouraging a Principle to Taking Concrete Action: Examples from WTO Accession Protocols and the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement
8. Hubert Escaith, Chiedu Osakwe, Vicky Chemutai, Ying Yan, Transforming Accessions Data into Knowledge

PART II.
NEGOTIATORS’ PERSPECTIVES ON THE WTO ACCESSION PROCESS

9. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Axel M. Addy, Accession of Liberia: An Agenda for Transformation
10. Humayoon Rasaw, Afghanistan’s Accession: Challenged by Conflict
11. Pierre Laporte, Charles Morin, Cillia Mangroo, The WTO Accession of Seychelles: Lessons from a Small Island Economy
12. Atsuyuki Oike, WTO Accession Negotiations from a Negotiator’s Perspective

PART III.
ACCESSIONS ACQUIS: THEMATIC PERSPECTIVES AND IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES

13. Antony Taubman, How Post- TRIPS Negotiations Reframe the ‘Trade-Related Aspects’ of Intellectual Property ater TRIPS: The Lessons of WTO Accessions
14. Robert D. Anderson, Anna Caroline Müller, Nivedita Sen, Competition Policy in WTO Accessions: Filling in the Blanks in the International Trading System
15. Tatiana Yanguas Acosta, Geographical Indications in the Accessions Landscape
16. Diwakar Dixit, WTO Accession Commitments on Agriculture: Lessons for WTO Rule-Making
17. Nannan Gao, Fangying Zheng, The WTO-Plus Obligations: Dual Class or a Strengthened System?
18. Josefita Pardo de León, Mariam Soumaré, Accession Protocols and the Private Sector
19. Maika Oshikawa, Post-Accession Support Platform
20. Alexei Kireyev, Chiedu Osakwe, Conclusion: Trade Multilateralism –Enhancing Flexibility, Preserving the Momentum

Contributor Biographies
Index

Alexei KIREYEV, Chiedu OSAKWE (eds.), Trade Multilateralism in the Twenty-First Century: Building the Upper Floors of the Trading System through WTO Accessions, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2017 (452 pp.)