The Perils of Globalization and the World Trading System

The post-World War II world trading system is now more than fifty years old, and not surprisingly, it has evolved through a number of different stages of development and survived a series of perils. Recently, however, the perils seem even greater than before. The failure of the Seattle Ministerial Meeting of November-December 1999 focused the attention of the international community, almost like a prospective execution focusing the attention of the targeted person. A number of different factors have contributed to this perilous situation, and in this brief Essay, I want to look particularly at some of the institutional characteristics of the World Trade Organization ("WTO"), which may be contributing to, or inhibiting escape from, the "perils." I will do this in four parts.Part I will be a brief reminder of the policy objectives and implications of the international economic system. Part II will overview the world trading system's need for a cooperative international mechanism or institution. Part III will examine the characteristics needed for a successful institution of this type, which might be the WTO. Part IV will explore some problems connected with the current situation related to the needed characteristics.