Evaluate the evolution of the world trade system

Résumé du document

Before the creation of a world trade system in 1947, the countries had protectionist economic policies or preferential trade agreements for the Empires as the one of Britain and France. In the 1930s, these policies clearly showed their limits with the economic depression and the World War II. As a result, the Western allied powers were willing to build a stable and durable world trade system. The ‘world trade system' can be define as being the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), created in 1947 and then the World Trade Organisation (WTO), replacing it in 1995. Above all, this system aimed at stopping any attempt of “backsliding” from the countries by making them interdependent. These organisations allowed a greater welfare in the trade relations and put an end to the inefficiency of unilateral tariff setting. The creation of the GATT and its evolution deeply reflected the willingness of the United States to liberalize the world trade. Thus, for nearly fifty years, the world trade system clearly evolved in two main directions.

Extraits

[...] One of their major problems was that agriculture and textile sectors were protected areas. In the 1960s, tensions increased between developed and developing countries. Developing countries tried to make pressure in the conference on trade development in the United Nations. In 1968 the part IV was added to the GATT and provided to the developing countries a special and differential status. Reciprocal trade concessions were not to be made from developing countries. (Barton p. 47) But in reality the gap between developed and developing countries remained wide because of unwillingness of the first to respond to wishes of the second. [...]

[...] This change gradually invalidated the theory of hegemon. From Kindleberger's point of view, this evolution should have provoked instability and the fall of the world trade system, but it was not the case (Petiteville p. still the influence of the United States remains very important. Incomplete liberalization under the GATT>>Uruguay round Although the evolution toward liberalism was important in the GATT's years, this liberalization applied only in a few areas because of its restricted mandate. Because services were a growing and dynamic part of the world economy, in the early 1980s, the Western countries and especially the United States wanted the new issues of services, investment, high- technology trade and intellectual property to be part of the GATT. [...]

[...] But even developed countries, who officially promoted the liberalization of trade, were sometimes resistant to liberalization. New protectionism or non- tariff barriers were used: a ranging from quotas and import licenses to technical standards and antidumping restrictions (Whalley p. 15). Regionalism with the preferential treatment agreements (PTAs) was also seen by some people as a barrier to the liberalization of trade (Zimmermann p242; Carlisle p. 118). However about this point critics claimed the contrary[1]. Due to the development of this new protectionism, the United States and the European Union have failed to keep their promises toward developing countries. [...]

[...] As a result, the Western allied powers were willing to build a stable and durable world trade system. The ‘world trade system' can be define as being the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), created in 1947 and then the World Trade Organisation replacing it in 1995. Above all, this system aimed at stopping any attempt of “backsliding” from the countries by making them interdependent. These organisations allowed a greater welfare in the trade relations and put an end to the inefficiency of unilateral tariff setting. [...]

[...] Few influence of the Dpg countries- unctd, gsp Right from the beginning, developing countries had little influence on what the trade system would look like, essentially because the GATT was very politicised and dominated by a club of rich countries. Indeed, this organization had been created by developed countries for developed countries. As a result, they were very powerful in the system. But with the decolonisation, the number of developing countries as well as their power increased, principally because of the right of former colonies to automatically join the GATT. [...]