Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-dfsvx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T18:17:50.442Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Strategic delaying and concessions extraction in accession negotiations to the World Trade Organization: an analysis of Working Party membership

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 May 2013

ERIC NEUMAYER
ERIC NEUMAYER*
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Geography and Environment, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK
*
*Email: e.neumayer@lse.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) is unlike accession to other global organizations. It is extremely demanding on applicant countries, time consuming and essentially power- rather than rule-based. This article argues that existing WTO members select themselves into the Working Party of applicant countries, the body which determines the timing and conditions of accession, in order to have the option to strategically delay membership by the applicant and/or extract concessions from it. Existing members will select themselves into a specific Working Party if their own trade interests are strongly affected, which will be the case if the existing member's bilateral trade with the applicant country forms a large share of its income, unless both countries already have a preferential trade agreement (PTA) between them. Trade interests are also strongly affected if the existing member competes with the applicant in terms of export product and market structure. Conversely, where both member and applicant have more PTAs with third countries of large economic size in common, potential accession will affect the member's trade interests less. An empirical analysis of Working Party membership since 1968 estimates to what extent these three different facets of trade interests are substantively important determinants of Working Party composition.

Type
Review Article
Information
World Trade Review , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , October 2013 , pp. 669 - 692
Copyright
Copyright © Eric Neumayer 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allee, T. and Scalera, J. (2010), A Beneficial Club, But Only If You Pay Your Dues: The Impact of GATT/WTO Accession on Trade, Working Paper, University of Illinois.Google Scholar
Baldwin, R. and Taglioni, D. (2006), Gravity for Dummies and Dummies for Gravity Equations, Working Paper 12516, Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.Google Scholar
Barbieri, K., Keshk, O., and Pollins, B. (2008), Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set Codebook, Version 2.01, http://correlatesofwar.org.Google Scholar
Basu, S. R. (2008), Does WTO Accession Affect Economic Policies and Institutions? HEI Working Paper No. 03/2008, Geneva: Graduate Institute for International Economics.Google Scholar
BBC (2006), ‘Georgia Threatens Russia WTO Veto’, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6168976.stmGoogle Scholar
Bennett, S. and Stam, A. C. (2005), EUGene: Expected Utility Generation and Data Management Program, Version 3.1, www.eugenesoftware.org.Google Scholar
Bienen, D. and Mihretu, M. E. (2010), The Principle of Fairness and WTO Accession: An Appraisal and Assessment of Consequences, Society of International Economic Law Working Paper 2010/29, London School of Economics and Political Science.Google Scholar
Cattaneo, O. and Braga, C. A. P. (2009), Everything You Always Wanted to Know about WTO Accession (but were afraid to ask), Policy Research Working Paper 5116, Washington, DC: The World Bank.Google Scholar
Charnovitz, S. (2008), ‘Mapping the Law of WTO Accession’, in Janow, M. E., Donaldson, V., and Yanovich, A. (eds.), The WTO: Dispute Settlement, Governance, and Developing Countries, Juris Publishing, pp. 855–920.Google Scholar
Copelovitch, M. S. and Ohls, D. (2009), In Defense of Trade: Post-Colonial States and GATT/WTO Accession, Working Paper, Madison: University of Wisconsin.Google Scholar
Davis, C. L. and Blodgett Bermeo, S. (2009), ‘Who Files? Developing Country Participation in GATT/WTO Adjudication’, Journal of Politics, 71(3): 1033–1049.Google Scholar
Drabek, Z. and Woo, Wing Thye (2010), ‘Who Should Join the WTO and Why? A Cost–Benefit Analysis of WTO Membership’, in Drabek, Z. (ed.), Is the World Trade Organization Attractive Enough for Emerging Economies? New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 249–294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deutsche Welle (2011), ‘Compromise with Georgia Clears Way for Russian WTO Membership’, www.dw.de/compromise-with-georgia-clears-way-for-russian-wto-membership/a-15509704.Google Scholar
Finger, J. M. and Kreinin, M. E. (1979), ‘A Measure of “Export Similarity” and Its Possible Uses’, The Economic Journal, 89: 905–912.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gay, D. (2005), ‘Vanuatu's Suspended Accession Bid: Second Thoughts?’, in Gallagher, P., Low, P. and Stoler, A. L. (eds.), Managing the Challenges of WTO Participation – 45 Case Studies, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 590–606.Google Scholar
Goldstein, J. L., Rivers, D., and Tomz, M. (2007), ‘Institutions in International Relations: Understanding the Effects of the GATT and the WTO on World Trade’, International Organization, 6(1): 37–67.Google Scholar
Gowa, J. S. and Kim, Soo Yeon (2005), ‘An Exclusive Country Club: The Effects of the GATT on Trade, 1950–94’, World Politics, 57(4): 453–478.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gruber, L. (2000), Ruling the World: Power Politics and the Rise of Supranational Institutions, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Grynberg, R. and Joy, R. M. (2000), ‘The Accession of Vanuatu to the WTO – Lessons for the Multilateral Trading System’, Journal of World Trade, 34(6): 159–173.Google Scholar
Jones, K. (2009), ‘The Political Economy of WTO Accession: The Unfinished Business of Universal Membership’, World Trade Review, 18: 279–314.Google Scholar
Kavass, I. I. (2007), ‘WTO Accession: Procedure, Requirements and Costs’, Journal of World Trade, 41: 453–474.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennett, M., Evenett, S. J., and Gage, J. (2005), Evaluating WTO Accessions: Legal and Economic Perspectives, Geneva: Ideas Centre.Google Scholar
Kraft, C. (2006a), Joining the WTO – The Impact of Trade, Competition and Redistributive Conflicts on China's Accession to the World Trade Organization, Frankfurt a.M.: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Kraft, C. (2006b), Third-Market Competition and the Politics of Strategic Delay in WTO Enlargement, Working paper, University of Konstanz.Google Scholar
Lacey, S. (2008), ‘The View from the other Side of the Table: WTO Accession from the Perspective of WTO Members’, in Streatfield, J. and Lacey, S. (eds.), New Reflections on International Trade: Essays on Agriculture, WTO Accession and Systematic Issues: Essays on Agriculture, WTO Accession and Systemic Issues, Cameron May, pp. 75–98.Google Scholar
Mansfield, E. and Reinhardt, E. (2008), ‘International Institutions and the Volatility of International Trade’, International Organization, 62(1): 621–652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milthorp, P. (2009), ‘WTO Accessions: The Story so Far’, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, 4: 103–112.Google Scholar
Pelc, K. J. (2011), ‘Why do Some Countries Get Better WTO Accession Terms than Others?’, International Organization, 65(4): 639–672.Google Scholar
Schneider, C. J. and Urpelainen, J. (2012), ‘Accession Rules for International Institutions: A Legitimacy-Efficacy Trade-off?’, Journal of Conflict Resolution, 56(2): 290–312.Google Scholar
Staiger, R. W. and Tabellini, G. (1999), ‘Do GATT Rules Help Governments Make Domestic Commitments?’, Economics and Politics, 11: 109–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stiglitz, J. A. and Charlton, A. H. G. (2006), Fair trade For All: How Trade Can Promote Development, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Subramanian, A. and Wei, Shan-Jin (2007), ‘The WTO Promotes Trade, Strongly but Unevenly’, Journal of International Economics, 72(1): 151–175.Google Scholar
Tang, Man-Keung and Wei, Shang-Jin (2008), ‘The Value of Making Commitments Externally: Evidence from WTO Accessions’, Journal of International Economics, 78(2): 216–229.Google Scholar
UN (2009), Commodity Trade Statistics Database (COMTRADE), New York: United Nations Statistics Division.Google Scholar
UNCTAD (2004), The Least Developed Countries Report 2004, New York and Geneva: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.Google Scholar
UNDP (2004), Integrated Framework: Phase II ‘Trade Related Assistance for Development and Equity (TRADE)’ Programme Support Document, New York: United Nations Development Programme.Google Scholar
Williams, P. J. (2008), A Handbook on Accession to the WTO, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wong, K. and Yu, M. (2007), Democracy and the GATT/WTO Accession Duration, Working Paper, University of Hong Kong and Peking University.Google Scholar
World Bank (2011), World Development Indicators, Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
WTO (1995), Accession to the World Trade Organization – Procedures for Negotiations under Article XII, Note by the Secretariat, WT/ACC/1, Geneva: World Trade Organization.Google Scholar
WTO (2001), Technical Note on the Accession Process, WT/CC/10, Geneva: World Trade Organization.Google Scholar
WTO (2003), Guidelines for Accession of Least Developed Countries, WT/L/508, Geneva: World Trade Organization.Google Scholar
WTO (2012), Accession of Least Developed Countries – Addendum, WT/L/508/Add.1, Geneva: World Trade Organization.Google Scholar