A necessidade da reforma da Organização Mundial do Comércio (OCM): a crise do multilateralismo e o papel dos Estados Unidos

Abstract

This study analyzes the crisis of the multilateral trade system focusing in the current crisis of World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as the role of the United States in deepening it. For a better understanding of the issue, it was explained the very beginning of the organization, that is, since the Bretton Woods Conference, from which was originated the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), supposed to be provisional but that lasted for decades. After several rounds of GATT negotiations, finally the creation of the WTO was on the agenda, bringing to reality what Bretton Woods had foreseen. In this context, the study looks at the structure of the WTO and its operation, in order to understand the current crisis scenario. The analysis of the present situation reveals the dissatisfaction of several members regarding its functioning, and reform proposals were presented already by great powers, because despite the need for reform, WTO governance in international trade is important, especially for developing countries, which ensure greater performance, as well as a place of speech. The change in US trade policy, with the entry of Trump into the government, brought several changes to the international scene, mainly due to its nationalist and protectionist bias. The paper thus presents as a result the understanding of the WTO crisis in multilateralism based on neoliberal theory, which explains the US ability to control the results in its bargaining process in halting the appointment of new arbitrators on the Appellate Body of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body.