Countries
willingly want to join
The
reasons are positive rather than negative. They lie in the WTO’s key
principles, such as non-discrimination and transparency. By joining
the WTO, even a small country automatically enjoys the benefits that
all WTO members grant to each other. And small countries have won
dispute cases against rich countries — they would not have been able
to do so outside the WTO.
The
alternative would be to negotiate bilateral trade agreements with each
trading partner. That could even include regularly negotiating the
renewal of commitments to treat trading partners as equals.
For
this, governments would need more resources, a serious problem for
small countries. And in bilateral negotiations smaller countries are
weaker.
By
joining the WTO, small countries can also increase their bargaining
power by forming alliances with other countries that have common
interests.
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