WTO at the Margins: Small States and the Multilateral Trading System

At a pivotal point in the history of the WTO, when development issues are at the heart of negotiations, how the larger and more powerful members address the legitimate concerns of its poorest and most vulnerable members will shape the perception of the institution throughout the century. This book aims not only to document almost ten years of experience of small states with the WTO but also to explain this experience. It takes an evidential theory approach to explaining the features characteristic to the trade and economic development of small island states. It then highlights the issues of concern to these states in relation to negotiations at the WTO. The experience of the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries with the WTO dispute settlement mechanism is discussed, and the book ends with a discussion of key negotiating issues for the island states and institutional arrangements to facilitate reform.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Roman Grynberg; Part I. Theory and Evidence: 1. A theory of trade and development of small vulnerable states Roman Grynberg; 2. Small countries: a survey of the literature Michael Weatherhead; 3. When comparative advantage doesn't matter: business costs in small economies L. Alan Winters and Pedro M. G. Martins; 4. Can small states compete in manufacturing? Ganeshan Wignaraja and David Joiner; 5. The economics of isolation and distance Stephen Redding and Anthony J. Venables; 6. The trade performance of small states Roman Grynberg and Mohammad A. Razzaque; 7. Small economies and special and differential treatment: strengthening the evidence and countering the fallacies Virginia Horscroft; Part II. WTO and Small Economies: 8. Small vulnerable economy issues and the WTO Roman Grynberg and Jan Yves Remy; 9. Special and differential treatment for small developing economies Richard L. Bernal; 10. A study of alternative special and differential arrangements for small economies Michael Davenport; Part III. WTO Dispute Settlement: A. Banana Dispute: 11. Small states in the banana dispute Edwin Laurent; 12. Impact of changes in the European Union's policy for banana imports on the Eastern Caribbean Region (1992–2002) Claudius Preville; 13. Jamaica and the case in the WTO against the European Communities' regime for the importation, sale and distribution of bananas (1992–2001) Marcia Thomas; B. Sugar Dispute: 14. WTO complaints by Australia and Brazil regarding the EU sugar regime Stephen J. Orava and Carol C. George; 15. Reform of EU export subsidies on sugar: the legal and economic implications for the ACP countries Chris Milner, Wyn Morgan and Evious Zgovu; C. Miscellaneous: 16. Analysis of the impact of opening up the EU import market for canned tuna on ACP countries Elizabeth Bennett, Helene Rey-Valette and Zhen Kun Wang; Part IV. Negotiating Issues and Institutional Arrangements: 17. WTO fisheries subsidies negotiations: implications for ACP fisheries access arrangements and sustainable management Roman Grynberg; 18. Plurilateral financial standards and their regulation: the experience of small developing states Roman Grynberg, Sacha Silva and Jan Yves Remy; 19. Export processing zones and the WTO agreement on subsidies and countervailing measures David Robertson; 20. The accession of Vanuatu to the WTO: lessons for the multilateral trading system Roman Grynberg and Roy Mickey Joy.