Originally published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Participants: Uri Dadush, Anabel Gonzalez, Chiedu Osakwe, Aluisio Campos
World trade is stuttering, the WTO Doha negotiations are on life support, and a Pacific trade deal has just been reached. What are the prospects for trade multilateralism and its implications for economic development?
A new book, WTO Accessions and Trade Multilateralism (Cambridge University Press, 2015), includes essays by negotiators and leading experts who systematically review the process for countries who wish to join the WTO. While that process is tedious and at times seemingly unfair, accession to the WTO has proven to enhance development in the acceding countries and has also greatly strengthened the multilateral trading system.
Uri Dadush and Anabel Gonzalez discussed the current state of world trade and of multilateralism. Chiedu Osakwe presented the book’s findings, and Aluisio Campos moderated.
Uri Dadush
Uri Dadush is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He focuses on trends in the global economy. He co-edited WTO Accessions and Trade Multilateralism.
Anabel Gonzalez
Anabel Gonzalez is senior director of the World Bank Group Global Practice on Trade and Competitiveness. Previously, she served as Costa Rica’s minister of foreign trade and the president’s principal adviser, negotiator, and spokesperson on trade and investment policy.
Chiedu Osakwe
Chiedu Osakwe is director of the WTO Accessions Division, having acted as director of various divisions within the WTO Secretariat for many years. He co-edited WTO Accessions and Trade Multilateralism.
Aluisio Campos
Aluisio Campos is an adjunct professor at the American University College of Law. In 2004, he established the ABCI Institute, and in 2007 started a trade policy training program at the Embassy of Brazil for government and private sector professionals. He is currently chairman of ABCI and continues to run the training program.
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