Restructure WTO

What actually prevented an agreement from being reached at the Seattle World Trade Organization talks, was not just protests on the grass roots level, but rather protests from inside the negotiations, and mainly from the developing countries.

Free trade, in essence, means an absence of barriers to trade. It is here that many environmental protesters pin their claims, and rightly, that trade is taking precedence over environmental concerns, when the latter is by far more important.

But equally important is the serious complaint that many developed countries are seeking to legitimize their protectionism via the WTO, and this was one of the main disagreements that led to the collapse of the talks. ...

There is a need for the restructuring of the WTO. There is a need for it to become more publicly accountable, and to prioritize its agenda regarding the environment. But what must not be lost now, is the power of the developing world having its way.

-- The Jordan Times, Amman, Jordan