The IMF and the WTO Need Symmetrical Reforms
The economic growth and relative peace after the Second World War owe much to the world’s multilateral architecture, and particularly to the institutions responsible for regulating capital movements and liberalizing trade. However, the IMF and the WTO need to come to terms with reality, suggests Hector Torres in his article for the
Center for International Governance Innovation. The polarization of the world pitches Western-styled democracies, championing progressive values and human rights, against autocracies, championing conservative values and economic advancement as a precondition for human rights. Taken separately, neither the WTO’s nor the IMF’s agenda is broad enough to allow for reforms that could be accepted as “balanced” by the competing camps. A
grand bargain might be the approach that could rejuvenate trust in the capacity of these centrally-important institutions to preserve economic interdependence – guaranteeing fair representation in the IMF, in exchange for assuming full trade responsibilities at the WTO. Symmetrical reforms could balance obligations and benefits, making a deal politically feasible.
https://www.cigionline.org/articles/the-imf-and-the-wto-need-symmetrical-reforms/
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