The Decision-making Process Of The WTO From Developing Countries Perspective

The World Trade Organisation(hereinafter WTO),is an organisation primarily tasked with the function of liberalising trade.It acts as a forum where member states meet to negotiate and take decisions on their trade related issues.With a membership of about 164 as of date and majority of them being developing countries,there have been a growing concern on the part of the developing countries' members.They have become deeply dissatisfied with the way their interests are continually not being met at majority of the WTO negotiations and even in already existing WTO Agreements.One of the many complaints of developing countries' members of the WTO,is the decision-making process which they perceive to be exclusionary,inherently biased and produces asymmetrical agreements.It is based on these arguments,that this research analyses the decision-making process of the WTO from the perspective of developing countries in the light of three elements pertinent to the WTO decision-making process namely;transparency,participation and effectiveness to determine if there is any truth to these complaints.The research also makes comparative analysis with the decision-making process of other international organisations(the World Bank and International Monetary Fund;the United Nations and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development)as they are together with the WTO,foremost institutions which influence global economic relationships.The analyses show the place of developing countries within the organisation.Indeed,their concerns aren't misplaced and they are unable to adequately be part of the current decision-making process structure,especially the least developed countries.This dissertation went further to highlight some advantages and disadvantages of the current decision-making process while also stating possible ways forward for developing countries and what probable hindrance these ways may encounter.