John H. Jackson—WTO Institution Builder

Abstract

John H Jackson was a mentor, an advisor, a role model, and a dear friend to me since I had the privilege of studying with him at the University of Michigan thirty-five years ago. I strive to teach the way he taught me, to write the way that he wrote— never measuring up to his exacting standards, but always aiming for the clarity of thought, analytical precision, and passionate vision for the future that he brought to his work. Most people think of academics as distant from policymaking in the real world, but John was an exception. He was very influential with trade policymakers, in the USA and around the world, not only because of his prolific writings and speeches, but more importantly, because he actively engaged with them in Geneva and capitals. This is the story of perhaps his greatest contribution: to the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In 1990, John published a short monograph, Restructuring the GATT System. In it, he outlined the history of the failure of the International Trade Organization, described the ‘defective constitution’ of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) system, and prescribed a remedy: a charter for a new WTO. In late 1989 to early 1990, he actively promoted his ideas at a conference at Chatham House in London, at meetings with ambassadors in Geneva, and with officials in Brussels. Around that time, I wrote a paper based on the ideas contained in my professor’s book for circulation among Canadian trade policy officials negotiating the Uruguay Round. Their initial response was that the USA and Japan would never agree to an international organization, it was not negotiable. By a mysterious twist of fate, my paper found its way into the Minister of International Trade’s office where it was read by his Senior Policy Advisor, William (Bill) Crosbie who showed it to his cousin, Minister John Crosbie. The Minister was so excited about the idea that he invited John to a special meeting in St John’s, Newfoundland (the Minister’s home city) on a very foggy winter’s day, with Sylvia Ostry (Deputy Minister and Chief Negotiator for Canada in the Uruguay Round at that time), GATT Ambassador John Weekes, Assistant Deputy Minister Gerald Shannon (who would later become