Is There A Need For Restructuring The Collaboration Among The Wto And Un Agencies So As To Harness Their Complementarities?

Given the broad objectives of the WTO, it is not surprising that there is need for effective collaboration with a number of UN agencies. One specific example relates to sustainable development. At the launching of the WTO Doha Development Agenda in Qatar in November 2001, the trade ministers strongly reaffirmed their 'commitment to the objective of sustainable development . . .'. At the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2002 in Johannesburg, ministers committed themselves to continue 'to promote open, equitable, rules-based, predictable and non-discriminatory multilateral trading . . .'. Notwithstanding such declarations, it is argued that there is scope for a clearer appreciation of the relationship between the work of the WTO and the United Nations Agencies. To achieve this, however, what is important is to identify the specific areas where there are complementarities and overlaps in their work. A selection of such areas are presented by way of example. They include the WTO Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement and its relationship to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and recent dispute settlement cases at the WTO dealing with the environment and public health. The relationship between WTO rules and those of Multilateral Environment Agreements is also reviewed, and attention is also drawn to human rights and labour standards where the everyday work of the WTO impacts on matters dealt with by United Nations Agencies. What emerges from this review is that an increasing number of non-traditional (in trade terms) issues are gravitating towards the WTO. Against this backdrop, a strong argument can be made that a trade policy organization such as the WTO should not be responsible for the non-trade issues that are gravitating towards it. One way to address this situation would be to strengthen those UN Agencies with the mandate and expertise to deal with the elements of sustainable development -- economic development, the environment, and social matters. It seems, however, that the requisite political will is not forthcoming to pursue this root. Against this backdrop, two proposals are advanced as to how to proceed in the WTO. Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved, Oxford University Press.