Slam the door on Belarus at the WTO
Earlier this week, Russia insisted the U.S., the European Union and other WTO members can’t stop Belarus from joining the global trading body. Yet that is exactly what they intend to do stating emphatically that Belarus is unfit to join, and that they’ll actively oppose it.
In a submission to the WTO, Russia declared that “[A]ny State possessing full autonomy in the conduct of its external commercial relations may accede to the WTO on terms to be agreed between it and the WTO…Nothing in the WTO Agreement stipulates that individual Members or a group of Members can unilaterally decide that a legitimately acceding State could be ‘unfit for WTO membership’ with the goal of imposing suspension or total dismantling of the accession process.”
On the surface, this is correct. According to the Marrakesh Agreement, which established the WTO, countries looking to join need to be supported by two-thirds of WTO members.
And according to those watching the numbers closely, Belarus may well have the two-thirds of the votes needed for a successful accession. However, as others have pointed out, the two-thirds threshold has long been superseded by the practice of decisions being taken by consensus at the WTO. Or, in other words, if so many countries – nearly 41 at last count – oppose Belarus’ accession, it won’t happen.
To be sure, it is a debatable point. But what should not be up for debate is whether certain countries should be members of the WTO in the first place including Russia, China and other countries on shaky ground when it comes to international law, human rights and democracy never mind free and fair trading practices.
In fact, that might be the WTO’s biggest problem. It has been too lenient in opening its doors in the first place. China has been a member of the WTO since 2001. And while it made some economic reforms in exchange for membership, its state-owned enterprises run roughshod over its private sector counterparts in a variety of markets and sectors, its intellectual property theft is extreme to almost comedic levels and its moved backward in a myriad of ways with respect to human rights, freedom and the rule of law.
And Russia, a more recent WTO members as of 2012 – after nearly 20 years of negotiations — is hardly the definition of a free-market economy given the power and influence the Putin regime exhibits over its private sector if that is even the right term for the oligarchs that dominate Russian business.
As the WTO looks to reestablish its relevance and utility in the global economy, it has a valuable role to play across a variety of fronts.
It can restore supply chain stability by urging members to wind down pandemic restrictions.
It can once again be a leading voice for free and open trade as a key way to kickstart global recovery.
And it can send the signal that membership requires a certain respect and adherence to values that the world holds dear.
It might be too late to give China and Russia the boot but it can certainly slam the door shut on Belarus.