RECHERCHE ET ANALYSE: DOCUMENTS DE TRAVAIL

Plurilateral trade agreements: An escape route for the WTO?

There are essentially two types of plurilateral trade agreements (PAs) among WTO Members, an exclusive and an open variant. While the benefits of the former agreements are shared among participants only, the latter are implemented on an MFN-basis, thus profiting non-signatories as well.

The most prominent examples are the Information Technology Agreement (1996) and the Fourth and Fifth Protocols under the GATS (1997) on telecom and financial services, respectively. To preclude ‘free riding’, their entry into force was made contingent on the participation of a ‘critical mass’ of countries. The respective benchmarks, usually market shares of some 80% or more, are quite challenging, however. To promote more widespread use of plurilaterals, given the plethora of pressing policy concerns, whether investment-, competition- or labour-related, and the persistent stalemate in the Doha Round negotiations, the conclusion of exclusive agreements is thus being (re‑)considered in ongoing policy discussions. This article takes a sceptical view, since any such PA would need to be agreed by consensus among all 160-odd WTO Members. It may prove more rewarding to further explore the potential of open agreements to address policy concerns among interested Members either in the form of co-ordinated improvements of their current schedules or, if not covered by existing treaty frameworks, as ‘WTO-extra’ understandings.

 

No: ERSD-2017-03

Auteurs: Rudolf Adlung and Hamid Mamdouh

Date de rédaction: janvier 2017

Mots clés:

WTO, Doha Round, plurilateral agreements, critical mass

Cotes JEL:

F13, F15, F53

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Avertissement 

Ce document est un document de travail et concerne donc des recherches en cours. Les opinions qui y sont exprimées sont celles de ses auteurs. Elles ne sont pas censées représenter la position ou les opinions de l’OMC ou de ses Membres et sont sans préjudice des droits et obligations des Membres dans le cadre de l'Organisation. Les auteurs sont seuls responsables en cas d’erreur.

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