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WTO                                                                            September 2000 Issue

the bulletin


The Myriad of Structures in the WTO

What kind of body will China be joining when its WTO membership is accepted? A club of 139 members, or more specifically a club with 139 member governments. An institution peopled by bureaucrats, the WTO??s goal in life is to establish rules and structures. No wonder the WTO itself is designed as a complicated web of structures.

Between Ministerial Conferences the regular business of the WTO is undertaken by trade negotiators. Every member designates a senior official as the Chief Negotiator ?V in the case of Hong Kong it is Director General of Trade and Industry Mr Joshua Law. For China it should be Assistant Minister Long Yongtu.

For many WTO members, the Chief Negotiator is only an occasional visitor. The day-to-day negotiation is handled by a team of resident representatives at WTO's headquarters in Geneva. Typically, these representatives carry ambassadorial rank. Hong Kong??s Chief Representative is Stuart Harbinson. For China, hitherto the representative in Geneva is Ambassador Qiao Zonghuai, who oversees China??s relationship with all United Nations and international bodies in Geneva. After WTO entry, the likelihood is that another ambassador may be appointed to take charge of the WTO specifically.

In Geneva, the 137 resident delegations to the WTO conduct their businesses through participation in the complex structure under the WTO organisation. At the top of the structure is the General Council. It works like a general assembly of WTO delegates and as the Dispute Settlement Body, similar to that of an arbitration court. It also works as the Trade Policy Review Body, a kind of audit department on the trade policy regimes of WTO members. The top three are then followed by three Councils on Trade in Goods, Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), and Trade in Services, each of which corresponds to a treaty under the WTO. Together these are the big six of the WTO??s committee structure.

A few standing committees exist on environment, development, regional trade agreement and balance of payment, reflecting WTO members?? concern on pollution issues, on developing countries, trade blocs and investment flows. There is also a housekeeping committee on budget and finance.

Under each of the Councils for Trade in Goods and Trade in Services are various committees and working groups ?V there are 12 under the Council for Trade in Goods. Of these the Committee on Trade in Agriculture is the most contentious, but other committees on various aspects such as anti-dumping and rules of origin are also very popular negotiating forums.

China will therefore be joining not just a club, but a myriad of committees and working groups within the WTO. It will have the freedom to join or be active in as many committees as it wishes. As a member it will also have the opportunity to contest ?V usually by negotiation, not election ?V for chairmanship of some of these bodies.

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