Suchergebnisse

This paper discusses the benefits as well as the adjustment problems resulting from the proposed accession of the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In the area of trade-related policies, the CIS countries will have to make strategic decisions on policy objectives that have so far been avoided. Necessary adjustments to specific policy instruments will be limited and mostly technical in nature. Similarly, current plans for regional integration among CIS countries are fundamentally in compliance with WTO rules. However, negotiating strategies should be carefully coordinated among CIS countries that are in a de facto, though not necessarily a de jure customs union. Systemic transformation, especially the imposition and further strengthening of financial discipline on formerly socialist enterprises through privatization and elimination of subsidies, will need to be carried forward vigorously. Benefits of WTO accession include the consolidation of recent improvements in market access and, above all else, greater credibility for market-oriented reform policies through the international commitments to be entered into by CIS governments with respect to future trade-related policies.

Key conceptual issues of the international trade law and international human rights systems -- Key legal issues in assessing the human rights impact of the WTO -- Future strategies for the protection and promotion of human rights in the international trade context.

The shift in international attention from the International Monetary Fund & World Bank to the World Trade Organization (WTO) during the late 1990s is examined. It is asserted that the controversy surrounding the WTO's 1999 meeting in Seattle illustrated that the international community is increasingly receiving globalization projects in a contentious manner. It is suggested that the protests over the WTO's meeting demonstrated the increased cooperation between environmental groups & trade unions; moreover, the protests revealed the extent of disagreement between nongovernmental organizations & social movements over collective action goals & methods. In addition, the WTO protests indicated the lack of preparedness among the WTO & member governments for addressing such opposition. The issues of determining what kind of globalization the WTO is promoting & the WTO's role in international decision making are raised. 1 Reference. J. W. Parker

IFPRI4; Markets and Trade ; MSSD ; Non-PR ; 316 p.