Trade Laws and Institutions: Good Practices and the World Trade Organization
Author(s)
Hoekman, Bernard
Abstract
Implementing all the rules and principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO) will do much to reduce the extent to which the trade policy regime of a country distorts incentives. However, much also remains discretionary, especially for developing countries. Full consistency with WTO requirements is therefore neither necessary nor sufficient to ensure that the trade policy formation process will not be captured by rent-seeking lobbies. A great need remains for careful institutional design, and a deliberate and conscious decision whether to exercise the various options allowed for under the WTO, both the ” good ” and the ” bad ” .
