The Governance of World Trade: International Civil Servants and the GATT/WTO

by Xu Yi-Chong, Edward Elgar, Patrick Weller

The Governance of World Trade focuses on the roles, influence and impacts of the so-called 'GATT operatives' or WTO practitioners. It is widely assumed that they have little influence on decisions and policies made, but, according to the authors, the GATT/WTO Secretariat has played an active role in promoting multilateral cooperation. This unique study of the internal operation of the GATT/WTO argues that the invisible yet indispensable international civil servants are the permanent machinery within the institution. They have, the authors ascertain, an important coordinating function and act according to a specific scale of values that transcend those of individual states, providing the continuity and the cement, the credibility and the connection among self-interest-driven states. The book concludes that as one of the most 'democratic' international organizations, operating on the principle of consensus, the WTO needs a creative Secretariat as a necessary condition for multilateral cooperation to work. Using case studies to analyse the workings of Secretariat officials in trade negotiations, and the influence and role of international civil servants, this book will be a fascinating read for a wide ranging audience political scientists and economists, international civil servants, think tanks, NGOs, and government agencies.

328 pages, Hardcover

First published August 30, 2004