Introduction

As the broadening in the scope of its rules and recent rapid rise in membership demonstrate, the World Trade Organization (WTO) arguably has become the most successful international organization dealing with economic relations among nations. This success has, however, been accompanied by an increase in strains within the WTO and in outside pressures that challenge the long-run viability of the institution. This chapter briefly examines the nature of the major challenges that have arisen and discusses various proposals for successfully meeting them, including actions agreed upon at the November 2001 Ministerial Conference in Qatar launching the Doha Development Round.

The discussion focuses on six issues confronting the WTO that require attention by its members to ensure the continued effectiveness of the institution. They are:

1. The work ‘overload’ on WTO members and the WTO Secretariat brought about by the significant increase in recent years in the number and technical complexity of matters on which WTO rules have been negotiated and are currently being proposed

2. The deep dissatisfaction of the developing countries over the balance of gains and adjustment costs between developing and developed countries in recent rounds of multilateral negotiations, especially the Uruguay Round

3. The impact of recent WTO rules on domestic economic and social conditions that traditionally have been influenced mainly through domestic political decision-making processes

4. […]