WTO, A Multilateral Trade Institution or a Parallel Organisation: Reform Initiatives Addressing the WTO Agricultural Trade Distortions to Developing Countries

Abstract

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) process and its ethos are fast losing their development objectives. The crisis, challenges and complexities in the implementation of WTO policies on agriculture and market access has not abated. Intellectuals, researchers and academics opine that the implementation of WTO policies have not only encouraged power and development divide between the Industrialised nations and the developing nations, it has worsened the rate of global economic inequality. Although the inclusion of agriculture in the Uruguay Round was taken as a major achievement, the commitment to minimum market access for most protected products, reducing export subsidies and a considerable measure of support, did not do much to lower agricultural protection. The promises made to the developing countries under the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) on agriculture, market access, reduction of subsidies/tariffs and implementation issues were limited and not fulfilled. Can the emerging WTO market capacities and alliances lead to a change in the decision-making process? This writing aims to critically analyse the existing WTO legal problems hindering market flows and the incidence of barriers to trade in agriculture being much higher than protection of developing countries farmers which has impacted their development.+ Keywords: WTO; Legal; Agriculture; Implementation; Inequality; Developing Countries; Doha Development Agenda; Decision-marking; Market Access; Development.+