The Impact on Russia of WTO Accession and the Doha Agenda

The Impact on Russia of WTO Accession and the Doha Agenda
Author: Thomas Fox Rutherford
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 35
Release: 2012
Genre:
ISBN:

Taking price changes from the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model of world trade, the authors use a small open economy computable general equilibrium comparative static model of the Russian economy to assess the impact of global free trade and a successful completion of the Doha Agenda on the Russian economy, and especially on the poor. They compare those results with the impact of Russian accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on income distribution and the poor. The model incorporates all 55,000 households from the Russian Household Budget Survey as "real" households. Crucially, given the importance of foreign direct investment (FDI) liberalization as part of Russian WTO accession, the authors also include FDI and Dixit-Stiglitz endogenous productivity effects from liberalization of import barriers against goods and FDI in services. The authors estimate that Russian WTO accession in the medium run will result in gains averaged over all Russian households equal to 7.3 percent of Russian consumption (with a standard deviation of 2.2 percent of consumption), with virtually all households gaining. They find that global free trade would result in a weighted average gain to households in Russia of 0.2 percent of consumption, with a standard deviation of 0.2 percent of consumption, while a successful completion of the Doha Development Agenda would result in a weighted average gain to households of -0.3 percent of consumption (with a standard deviation of 0.2 percent of consumption). Russia, as a net food importer, loses from subsidy elimination, and the gains to Russia from tariff cuts in other countries are too small to offset these losses. The results strongly support the view that Russia's own liberalization is more important than improvements in market access as a result of reforms in tariffs or subsidies in the rest of the world. Foremost among the own reforms is liberalization of barriers against FDI in business services.

The History and Future of the World Trade Organization

The History and Future of the World Trade Organization
Author: Craig VanGrasstek
Publisher:
Total Pages: 704
Release: 2013
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

The History and Future of the World Trade Organization is a comprehensive account of the economic, political and legal issues surrounding the creation of the WTO and its evolution. Fully illustrated with colour and black-and-white photos dating back to the early days of trade negotiations, the publication reviews the WTO's achievements as well as the challenges faced by the organisation, and identifies the key questions that WTO members need to address in the future. The book describes the intellectual roots of the trading system, membership of the WTO and the growth of the Geneva trade community, trade negotiations and the development of coalitions among the membership, and the WTO's relations with other international organisations and civil society. Also covered are the organisation's robust dispute settlement rules, the launch and evolution of the Doha Round, the rise of regional trade agreements, and the leadership and management of the WTO.

Russian Wto Accession: what Has Been Accomplished, what Can be Expected

Russian Wto Accession: what Has Been Accomplished, what Can be Expected
Author: David Tarr
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 20
Release: 2007
Genre: Accession Negotiations
ISBN:

Abstract: This paper summarizes the principal reform commitments that Russia has undertaken as part of its World Trade Organization (WTO) accession negotiations, providing detailed assessments in banking, insurance, and agriculture. The paper assesses the gains to the Russian economy from these commitments, based on a summary of several modeling efforts undertaken by the author and his colleagues. The author compares Russian commitments with those of other countries that have recently acceded to the WTO to assess the claim that the demands on Russia are excessive due to political considerations. He explains why Russian WTO accession will result in the elimination of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment against Russia. Finally, he discusses the remaining issues in the negotiations and the time frame for Russian accession as of the fall of 2007.

The WTO at Twenty

The WTO at Twenty
Author: World Trade Organization
Publisher:
Total Pages: 88
Release: 2015
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

This research explores how multilateralism in trade has worked over the past twenty years - and provides some lessons about how it can work in the future. It describes the WTO's achievements across a number of key areas, including: strengthening the institutional foundations of the trade system; widening its membership and increasing participation; deepening trade integration through lower barriers and stronger rules; improving transparency and policy dialogue; strengthening dispute settlement; expanding cooperation with other international organizations; and enhancing public outreach. It concludes that the WTO has achieved much over its first twenty years but the success of the WTO has inevitably given rise to new challenges.

WTO Accessions and Trade Multilateralism

WTO Accessions and Trade Multilateralism
Author: Uri Dadush
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 1015
Release: 2015-09-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1107093368

An examination of how WTO accession negotiations have expanded the reach of the multilateral trading system both geographically and conceptually.

Poverty and the WTO

Poverty and the WTO
Author: Thomas W. Hertel
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 564
Release: 2005-12-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0821363158

Poverty reduction is deemed to be a centerpiece of the Doha Development Agenda currently being negotiated under the auspices of the WTO. Yet there is considerable debate about the poverty impacts of such an agreement. Some are convinced it will increase poverty, while others are equally convinced that it will lead to poverty reduction. This book brings the best scientific methods to bear on this question, taking into account the specific characteristics embodied in the Doha Development Agenda.

Russia and the World Trade Organization

Russia and the World Trade Organization
Author: P. Naray
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2001-01-11
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0230596185

After an exploration of the experience gained by former central and eastern European countries in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Peter Naray gives an analysis of the Russian economic and social crisis and comes to the conclusion that this crisis is responsible for the delay of Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The author criticizes the approach taken in Russian reforms because the country's historical legacy (weak legal system, underdeveloped political and economic institutions etc.) was neglected. The book describes the steps made by Russia towards WTO membership underlining the present and expected difficulties. It warns against a fundamentalist approach by the members of the WTO which may result in Russia's isolation in political and economic matters which would represent a danger to the whole world.

Development at the WTO

Development at the WTO
Author: Sonia E. Rolland
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 430
Release: 2012-02-23
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0191627674

Seeking to open paths for reconsidering the trade and development relationship at the WTO, this book takes into account both the heritage of the trade regime and its present dynamics. It argues that the institutional processes for creating and implementing trade rules at the WTO and the actual regulatory outcomes are inseparable. A consideration of the WTO's development dimension must examine both jointly. It shows that the shortcomings of the Doha Development Round are in part due to a failure to assess trade rules as part of the legal processes and institutions that produced them. This book devotes significant analysis to the systemic impact of the WTO as an institution on developing and least developed members. From a pragmatic perspective, it provides a coherent and systematic analysis of the legal meaning, the implementation, and the adjudication of special and differential treatment rules for developing members. It then evaluates the different regulatory approaches to trade and development from a more theoretical perspective. The book finishes by presenting a range of proposals for a better balance between trade liberalization and the development needs of many WTO members.

The Politics of China's Accession to the World Trade Organization

The Politics of China's Accession to the World Trade Organization
Author: Hui Feng
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2006
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780415369213

Grounded on a series of first-hand interviews with Chinese government officials, this book examines China's accession to the World Trade Organization, providing an 'inside' look at Chinese WTO accession negotiations. Presenting a systematic political economy model in analyzing Beijing's decision-making mechanisms, the book argues that China's WTO policy making is a state-led, leadership driven, and top-down process. Feng explores how China's determined political elite partly bypassed and partly restructured a largely reluctant and resistant bureaucracy, under constant pressure from an increasingly globalized international system. By addressing China's accession to the WTO from a political analysis perspective, the book provides a theoretically informed and intriguing examination of China's foreign economic policy making regime. The book highlights contemporary debates relating to state and institutionalist theory and provides new and useful insights into a significant development of this century.