Non-Tariff Measures and the WTO / World Trade Organization.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

World Trade Organization.

Series:

WTO Working Papers, 25189808 ; no.2012/01.

WTO Working Papers, 25189808 ; no.2012/01

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economic research and trade policy analysis.

Local Subjects:

Economic research and trade policy analysis.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (47 pages).

Place of Publication:

Geneva : World Trade Organization, 2012.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

In this paper I sketch out the rough contours of the challenge faced by the WTO in dealing with non-tariff measures (NTMs) as seen from the economic theories of trade agreements. The key questions for the WTO - the answers to which largely dictate the choice between shallow and deep approaches to integration - appear to be two: (1) Is it the terms-of-trade problem or the commitment problem that WTO member governments seek to solve with their WTO membership?; and (2) Is it market clearing or offshoring/bilateral bargaining that is now the most prominent mechanism for the determination of international prices? I suggest that evidence on the first question points to the terms-of-trade theory and hence toward shallow integration, but that answering the second question may be the key to identifying the best way forward on NTMs for the WTO.

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