14 - WTO accessions: a rules perspective on growth – the approach of the European Union

Summary

ABSTRACT

In today's difficult economic conditions and in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, growth is more than ever the priority of governments. Economic growth, employment, wealth, health and political stability are intrinsically linked notions, and each is essential for the others. Trade and economic integration have been credited as core means to deliver growth. The heads of the EU member states have recently reiterated the importance of free, fair and open trade for growth, and have highlighted the European Union's objective to promote, among other things, international regulatory convergence. Trade liberalisation is a major structural reform in itself, creating incentives for investments, modernisation and increased competitiveness. Moreover, in a world of increasing production interdependence as a consequence of global supply chains, achieving regulatory convergence is not a question for consideration but an imminent necessity if trade and growth are to be preserved and stimulated. The WTO offers both a beacon for economic reforms and an unprecedented forum for economic partnership.

This chapter has four main parts. First, it addresses the issue of the systemic and institutional importance of adherence to WTO rules for the growth of different economies and emphasises how the process of accession to the WTO plays a special role in achieving this objective. The second and third parts present two types of WTO working party reports of acceding economies: sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and transparency. In order to illustrate the contribution of regulatory convergence to economic gains, several examples are provided in the area of SPS from the European Union's internal harmonisation experience and the chapter outlines the European Union's approach with regard to this area of regulation in the WTO accession negotiations. The argument is made that in order to create regulatory conditions for growth in addition to substantive convergence, it is indispensable to ensure transparency of the environment and procedures to make and implement regulations. Finally, before concluding, the discussion turns to one of the key dilemmas for every acceding economy: the need to liberalise for the sake of growth through modernisation and diversification, on the one hand, and the need to protect fragile domestic industries, on the other.