WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

In operation since January 1, 1995, the World Trade
Organization regulates trade between the 153 member
nations who participate in the organization. The 153
member nations of the World Trade Organization
comprise more than 97% of total world trade. The
objective of the World Trade Organization is to stimulate
economic growth and promote free trade between
nations. The World Trade Organization provides a
framework for the negotiation and formalization of trade
agreements between the member nations as well as a
dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing World
Trade Organization agreements that have been executed
by government representatives of member nations.
Although the World Trade Organization technically
operates on a one country, one vote system, votes are
not actually ever taken. Instead, decision making in the
organization is usually by consensus with bargaining
power based primarily on relative market size. Although
the use of consensus in decision making increases the
likelihood that the ultimate decision will be widely
accepted, it is generally a slow process that ultimately
results in ambiguous agreements. Furthermore, the
consensus decision-making usually occurs through a
process of negotiations between small groups of nations
as opposed to by consensus of all member nations.
WTO Debate Controversy
The practice of consensus decision-making has sparked
a World Trade Organization debate, because critics
contend that many of the developing country members
of the World Trade Organization are often excluded from
the informal negotiations and, therefore, are excluded
from the main decision-making process. Furthermore,
critics of the World Trade Organization's consensus
model argue that it ultimately favors the United State
and Europe due to their greater relative market size.
These critics assert that the World Trade Organization is
biased in favor of wealthy nations and multinational
corporations and against smaller, poorer developing
nations. In support of their position, critics contend that
wealthy nations are able to maintain high import quotas
and duties in certain products, thereby blocking imports
from developing nations. Similarly, critics assert that
the World Trade Organization maintains high protection
of agriculture in developed nations while pressing
developing nations to open their markets. Thus,
opponents of the work of the World Trade Organization
argue that the organization is actually widening the very
sociological gap between the poor and the rich that it
claims to be correcting.
Other opponents in the World Trade Organization debate
argue that the World Trade Organization is so focused
on free trade that it is ignoring issues such as labor and
the environment. They contend that the organization
actually promotes the agenda of wealthy multinational
corporations that is aimed at free trade above the
interests of working families, local communities, and the
environment. These critics are concerned that an
emphasis on trade will be devastating to world natural
resources unless proper attention is paid to adequate
environmental regulation and resource management. In
support of their positions, critics point to the opposition
by the World Trade Organization to the laws in the
United States that protected sea turtles and those that
protected dolphins as well as to the clean air
regulations of the United States. Furthermore, the World
Trade Organization opposed the laws of the European
Union banning hormone-treated beef. The World Trade
Organization opposed these laws and regulations as
barriers to free trade. Furthermore, opponents argue
that the needs and rights of the labor market of the
member nations are being sacrificed on the altar of free
trade.