WTO Steps Back from the Abyss of Irrelevance … but Crucial Issues Remain Unresolved

James BacchusAfter pulling an all ‐​nighter in Geneva, the 164 members of the World Trade Organization pulled a few paces back from the abyss of trade irrelevance in the conclusion of their long‐​delayed and much‐​anticipated 12th ministerial conference. For only the second time since the establishment of the institutio n in 1995, they were able to conclude a multilateral trade agreement. Indeed, they concludedseveral. This alone is worthy of applause amid the current concatenation of crises from climate change, covid, and military conflict. Because of the success in simply concluding these agreements, the WTO remains relevant in international trade and overall international deliberation.But what has been accomplished in this package of trade agreements? From perusing them, they do appear to be notable accomplishments; yet, in each of them, there is a  telling element of procrastination. Some of the hardest issues have not been resolved; instead, they have been postponed for another day, with firm lines of disagreement still maintained by some WTO members that will doubtless frustrate the achievement of the consensus that is needed to conclude n ew global trade agreements under the terms of the WTO treaty.COVID-19 Vaccine WaiverThe headline agreement that is likely to draw the most attention worldwide is the agreement on a  waiver of certain intellectual property (IP) rights relating to COVID-19 vaccines. Culminating two years of negotiations, developing coun...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs