Custom «The World Trade Organization» Essay Paper

The World Trade Organization is the only international body that deals with the trade rules between states. At its core are the World Trade Organization agreements that were negotiated and signed by majority of world's trading countries and approved in their parliaments. Its major goal is importers, exporters and goods and service's producers carry out their business. It is one of the latest examples of global trade liberalization. The organization was convened in the year 1995, a formalization of several changes which had taken place in the markets from the earlier GATT convention. The organization aims at reducing the barriers or obstacles to the international trade and commerce by multilateral abolishment of tariffs, creation of greater dialogue and standardizing measures. Currently it hat hit a one hundred and forty eight-membership mark, with more than thirty nations still in negotiations for membership. Just like the NAFTA, EU and several other economic frameworks, the organization's membership is also highly sought after (Strutt, 1999).

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Although there are some conjectural thoughts regarding the advantages, structure together with the operations of international organizations, we find that there is still a lack of pragmatic examination of the extent or degree to which the global bodies have achieved or fulfilled their missions. This particularly holds true for the WTO. The WTO is a good example for the development of a global organization. The organization has no discrimination between its member states except for the political ability of implementing free trade. Nevertheless, its legality rests upon the common agreement of governments worldwide for legislation of the deregulation of the private sector. From this point of view, the organization becomes a major force for the standardization and uniformity of the international interests. The organization helps in facilitating the flow of goods and services among regions and nations all over the world.

The organization encourages good governance in that it discourages a range of imprudent policies and the commitment made in the liberalization of a trade sector becomes very difficult to reverse. These policies reduce corruption opportunities. The organization also helps in preventing or shielding governments from narrow interest. Nevertheless, governments are better placed in defending themselves against lobbying from the narrow interest groups by mainly focusing on the trade-offs that are made in everybody's interests in the economy.

The fundamental principles make the system to become economically more efficient and they reduce costs. Several advantages of the trading system are due to the fundamental principle at the center of the organization's system and they actually make life simpler for the enterprises that have a direct involvement in the international trade and also for the procedures of goods and services. However, such principles include transparency, non-discrimination and increased sureness or certainty regarding the trading conditions. Together, these factors make life simpler, they also cut company costs as well as increasing self-confidence in the future and consequently implies that there is creation of more job opportunities together with better goods and services for the customers.

Joining the organization is favorable to the acceleration of the readjustment together with optimization of the local or domestic industrial structure. The optimization and the readjustment of the industrial structure is a very essential and pressing task for the economic development of countries, particularly the developing countries. Joining the organization creates a conducive global or international environment for implementing this strategic task. The organization's rules make life easier. This is due to the fact that it is based on rules and not power, and this actually makes life to become easier for all of the trading countries. The organization helps in reducing some inequalities by offering the smaller nations more voice, and equally easing the major or super powers from the problem and complexity of having to bargain or negotiate the trade agreements with each of the nations that are members.

Although the organization has several advantages for countries joining it, it also has some disadvantages. It attracted attention during the year 1999 when a world trade's Ministerial Conference convened in Seattle experienced anti-global protests. The organization was accused of engineering globalization which greatly impacts poor countries negatively and it represents the developed countries' interests without considering the underdeveloped and developing ones. Furthermore, it does not consider environment and health, in addition to the claims that they use the private ownership accord for the obtaining or acquiring of products that are genetically modified (Fisher, 2000). The organization acknowledges that their reputed accords do not cover issues that are related to the rights of workers, cultural diversity and social programs. Cases like these ones were presented at the conferences in Singapore and Seattle before in the year 1996. They were opposed by majority of the member states arguing that there are several other global organizations like the International Labor Organization that are responsible for them and that they should not worry.

There is also increasing apprehensions and worries over the organization's negligence of the developing and underdeveloped nation's concerns over the protection of their goods or products together with industries that are not in a position of competing or even standing in the face of the superpowers. It allows marginal liberty for the nations' governments to establish the essential custom laws and regulations against inundating their markets. Nonetheless, they are entitled to take additive measures like the imposition of additional fees on the imports for the purpose of protecting their growing or weak industries. Those nations are supposed or even expected to recompense their partners by offering some of their export products an access to their markets. However, it is very apparent that the nations actually have the rights of taking preventive or protective measures in protecting their human plant, animal and environmental rights, taking into consideration that they do not disagree with or contravene the standards set by the national and global standard organizations like the World Trade Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization (Human Development Report, 2003).

Professionals believe that trade liberation has several advantages to the producers and very little disadvantages to the little producers. It is nearly of significant use to the consumers having an access to the variety of goods and services that they can be able to choose from, having extensive and wider chances of choosing the benefits and qualities that they want. Moreover, liberation will speed up economic development in the short and long-run, something that will result to social welfare.

There are several ways that the organization can change some of its structures in order to establish a favorable and conducive environment for the poor and weak member states. The issue of trade and environment has shown the need for the organization's framework to consider the other policy values whereas maintaining the economic liberalization as its major objective. However, the present state of 'trade and investment' negotiations indicates that opposition to seeing or ensuring the organization expanding its scope arises from different fields. Initially, the new round's declaration was expected to take place during the year 1999 at the Seattle's ministerial discussions, however, the discussions did not bear any fruit since the matter of whether labor standards should be included or not could not be settled. In the present global environment whereby interdependence and globalization is being sought, several would agree that the organization actually comprises an essential infrastructure for the global or international community.

Nevertheless, complex and tough problems are coupled with the direction that is taken by this matter. The trade policies of a country are not established independently of the other areas. For instance, in the control of trans-boundary movements of hazardous wastes together with their disposal' Basel Convention, we find that the implementation of the measures of trade for the protection of environment has appeared to be very effectual. If indeed the organization's in international regulation was weak, there would be actually no need of quarrelling over the issue of the agency and its connection to the other policy values. What the countries have to do is negotiation among themselves on the basis of their individual diplomacy.

But there is change in the condition when the mechanism for the settlement of dispute within the organization becomes more structured and its regulations strengthened. When all these measures are put into place, I believe the World Trade Organization will be one of the best bodies or organizations in the world in helping to improve the conditions and standard of the developing and the underdeveloped countries in terms of economy; since it will establish a level playground, where no one suffers at the expense of the other.