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P. 17
de (GATT). Combined, the WTO and the GATT of tech goods – ranging from high-tech healthcare
have revolutionized world trade. Eight successful devices to advanced semiconductors and software
multilateral negotiating rounds have helped media – are now being traded duty-free under the
increase world trade from $58 billion in 1948 to well 2015 ITA expansion.
above $20 trillion today. This 40-fold increase in
real terms has brought a rising tide of commerce to A forum for negotiations
nearly the entire world.
That’s not to say the WTO doesn’t need reform.
It isn’t just the tariff elimination brought about It does. The WTO must become more nimble as
under the GATT and the WTO that benefits a forum for negotiations by making it easier for
American companies and the workers they employ. members to pursue new market-opening trade
The WTO guarantees that U.S. firms operating agreements. Achieving consensus in an organization
abroad will receive “national treatment” (i.e., the of 164 member states is obviously challenging, but
same rights and responsibilities granted local firms) the absence of consensus cannot be permitted to
and “most-favored nation (MFN) treatment” (i.e., block negotiations among those seeking to tear
treatment as good as that afforded firms from the down trade barriers or update trade rules.
most favorably treated country).
The U.S. Chamber strongly supports the move to
In addition, the arbitrary use of technical regulations seek new “plurilateral” agreements covering large
or standards to block imports is all too common. The numbers of WTO members but not necessarily all.
WTO provides rules to guard against this kind of Good examples of such trade agreements include
protectionism in disguise. WTO rules also prohibits the WTO’s Government Procurement Agreement
supposed “sanitary” measures that lack a clear basis in and the aforementioned ITA. One area ripe for
science and are protectionist in intent. negotiation in a plurilateral format is e-commerce,
where 76 WTO Member States recently announced
American firms rely on these rules – every day of plans for negotiations.
the year – all around the globe.
Similarly, the U.S. Chamber looks forward to
If the U.S. Congress passed legislation the day when negotiations resume for a Trade in
withdrawing the United States from the WTO, the Services Agreement (TiSA), which stalled in late
other 163 WTO Member States – representing 99% 2016. This negotiation was not properly taking
of the world economy – would be free to raise their place within the WTO but on its doorstep (with
tariffs against U.S. exports as high as they liked – national governments’ ambassadors to the WTO
and Washington would have no legal recourse. U.S. negotiating). But in the long run, this prospective
firms would also lose the protection of the WTO’s high-standard trade agreement covering services
rules against discriminatory treatment. could potentially become a WTO agreement, as has
happened in the past.
It’s become commonplace to say the WTO’s
accomplishments are long in the past, but this isn’t The U.S.-China trade negotiations of recent
so. The WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement, which months also underscore the need to put teeth
entered into force in early 2017, is a cost-cutting, into the WTO’s promises on issues ranging
competition-enhancing, anti-corruption agreement from subsidies to the need for state-owned and
of the first order. Once fully implemented, it has state-invested enterprises to act on the basis of
the potential to increase global merchandise trade commercial considerations, as the United States
by up to $1 trillion annually, according to the has discussed at length with the governments of
WTO’s World Trade Report 2015. Japan and the EU.
Another relatively recent success of the WTO is the An adjudicator of disputes
expansion of product coverage of the Information
Technology Agreement (ITA), which has delivered But the WTO has other roles. WTO dispute
a cornucopia of innovative technology products to settlement plays a central role in the global
the world. All told, approximately $1.3 trillion worth rules-based trading system. As Bill Reinsch of
South China Business Journal 14
have revolutionized world trade. Eight successful devices to advanced semiconductors and software
multilateral negotiating rounds have helped media – are now being traded duty-free under the
increase world trade from $58 billion in 1948 to well 2015 ITA expansion.
above $20 trillion today. This 40-fold increase in
real terms has brought a rising tide of commerce to A forum for negotiations
nearly the entire world.
That’s not to say the WTO doesn’t need reform.
It isn’t just the tariff elimination brought about It does. The WTO must become more nimble as
under the GATT and the WTO that benefits a forum for negotiations by making it easier for
American companies and the workers they employ. members to pursue new market-opening trade
The WTO guarantees that U.S. firms operating agreements. Achieving consensus in an organization
abroad will receive “national treatment” (i.e., the of 164 member states is obviously challenging, but
same rights and responsibilities granted local firms) the absence of consensus cannot be permitted to
and “most-favored nation (MFN) treatment” (i.e., block negotiations among those seeking to tear
treatment as good as that afforded firms from the down trade barriers or update trade rules.
most favorably treated country).
The U.S. Chamber strongly supports the move to
In addition, the arbitrary use of technical regulations seek new “plurilateral” agreements covering large
or standards to block imports is all too common. The numbers of WTO members but not necessarily all.
WTO provides rules to guard against this kind of Good examples of such trade agreements include
protectionism in disguise. WTO rules also prohibits the WTO’s Government Procurement Agreement
supposed “sanitary” measures that lack a clear basis in and the aforementioned ITA. One area ripe for
science and are protectionist in intent. negotiation in a plurilateral format is e-commerce,
where 76 WTO Member States recently announced
American firms rely on these rules – every day of plans for negotiations.
the year – all around the globe.
Similarly, the U.S. Chamber looks forward to
If the U.S. Congress passed legislation the day when negotiations resume for a Trade in
withdrawing the United States from the WTO, the Services Agreement (TiSA), which stalled in late
other 163 WTO Member States – representing 99% 2016. This negotiation was not properly taking
of the world economy – would be free to raise their place within the WTO but on its doorstep (with
tariffs against U.S. exports as high as they liked – national governments’ ambassadors to the WTO
and Washington would have no legal recourse. U.S. negotiating). But in the long run, this prospective
firms would also lose the protection of the WTO’s high-standard trade agreement covering services
rules against discriminatory treatment. could potentially become a WTO agreement, as has
happened in the past.
It’s become commonplace to say the WTO’s
accomplishments are long in the past, but this isn’t The U.S.-China trade negotiations of recent
so. The WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement, which months also underscore the need to put teeth
entered into force in early 2017, is a cost-cutting, into the WTO’s promises on issues ranging
competition-enhancing, anti-corruption agreement from subsidies to the need for state-owned and
of the first order. Once fully implemented, it has state-invested enterprises to act on the basis of
the potential to increase global merchandise trade commercial considerations, as the United States
by up to $1 trillion annually, according to the has discussed at length with the governments of
WTO’s World Trade Report 2015. Japan and the EU.
Another relatively recent success of the WTO is the An adjudicator of disputes
expansion of product coverage of the Information
Technology Agreement (ITA), which has delivered But the WTO has other roles. WTO dispute
a cornucopia of innovative technology products to settlement plays a central role in the global
the world. All told, approximately $1.3 trillion worth rules-based trading system. As Bill Reinsch of
South China Business Journal 14
