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6 - For Whom the Bell Tolls

The WTO’s Third Decade

from Part I - New and Old Challenges

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2019

By
Michael Hahn
Edited by
Manfred Elsig ,
Michael Hahn  and
Gabriele Spilker
Manfred Elsig
Affiliation:
Universität Bern, Switzerland
Michael Hahn
Affiliation:
Universität Bern, Switzerland
Gabriele Spilker
Affiliation:
Universität Salzburg
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Summary

The chapter focuses on the WTO’s current crisis, most visibly manifested in the forced vacancies on the Appellate Body and the foreseeable disappearance of what used to be described as the “jewel in the crown” of the WTO. Hahn is of the opinion that this crisis will only be ended, if the members can agree on a number of reform steps relating to the broader governance of the system. The author predicts that without those changes, the organization will wither away like a picture of Dorian Gray. Hahn describes the different issues that need to be addressed that range from privileging a multi-speed WTO, the status of developing countries, the intellectual property approach by China as well as changes in anti-dumping and anti-subsidy laws.

Keywords

WTOAppellate Bodydevelopmentintellectual propertyChinaanti-dumpingsubsidies
Type
Chapter
Information
The Shifting Landscape of Global Trade Governance
World Trade Forum
 , pp. 121 - 154
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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