The North-South conflict within the GATT/WTO –from the conclusion of the Uruguay Round to the Cancun failure- has been the result of three factors: the extension of the agenda to regulatory issues in the context of “single undertaking” ; the developed countries’ resistance to liberalisation of the agriculture and textile sectors; the inadequacy of special and differential treatment (SDT). The developing countries –and especially theG-20- refusal to accept negotiations based on a US-EU deal and the consequent failure at Cancun generated the risk of bilateral and regional fragmentation of the international trading system. The developing countries however did not have an acceptable alternative. The WTO will have to change after Cancun, and its role may be diminished: the traditional GATT procedure of reaching consensus on the basis of previous agreement among a few, essentially developed, countries is no longer viable; the combination of “deep integration” and single undertaking has proved extremely difficult and it is unlikely to be practicable in the future; the developing countries cannot avoid for much longer the issue of differentiation and graduation of SDT.
Il Wto e il conflitto Nord-Sud. Riflessioni post-Cancun
CUFFARO, Crocetta Nadia
2004-01-01
Abstract
The North-South conflict within the GATT/WTO –from the conclusion of the Uruguay Round to the Cancun failure- has been the result of three factors: the extension of the agenda to regulatory issues in the context of “single undertaking” ; the developed countries’ resistance to liberalisation of the agriculture and textile sectors; the inadequacy of special and differential treatment (SDT). The developing countries –and especially theG-20- refusal to accept negotiations based on a US-EU deal and the consequent failure at Cancun generated the risk of bilateral and regional fragmentation of the international trading system. The developing countries however did not have an acceptable alternative. The WTO will have to change after Cancun, and its role may be diminished: the traditional GATT procedure of reaching consensus on the basis of previous agreement among a few, essentially developed, countries is no longer viable; the combination of “deep integration” and single undertaking has proved extremely difficult and it is unlikely to be practicable in the future; the developing countries cannot avoid for much longer the issue of differentiation and graduation of SDT.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
