Preferential trade agreements: crisis or opportunity to the WTO ?
Keywords:
Preferential Trade Agreements, Regional Trade Agreements, WTO, Multilateral Trading System.Abstract
The aim of this article, based on the analysis of the main issues of relationship between the PTA and the WTO, was to define whether the proliferation of PTA represented a crisis or an opportunity for the WTO. To answer this question, in the first section, this article has analyzed the symptoms indicating that the proliferation of the PTA is a normative and an institutional crisis of the WTO. In the normative perspective, the consensus rule, the outdated framework of WTO disciplines and the complexification of rules of origin indicate a crisis for the WTO. Moreover, the defective supervision of the transparency mechanism, a weak Secretariat and conflicts of jurisdiction are relevant issues on the institutional area. This research allowed us to conclude that the growth of the PTA is both the source and the consequence of a WTO crisis. In the second section, this article has tried to think of reasonable alternatives to take advantage of the new scenario of international trade to improve the multilateral trading system. As possible solutions, we identify the strengthening of the supervision made by the WTO of the PTA countries, with a more powerful Secretariat, and the multilateralization of the benefits perceived by the PTA parties, whether de facto or via a critical mass of Members.
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