"A Different, New World Order"

The Economist, November 9, 2000.

Synopsis:

The opening case in chapter 5 describes the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO), focusing on the trade dispute between the U.S. and the EU, the two most important members of WTO.

The two trading blocks mainly decided the world trade policy until recently. As this article explains, however, the days when they could set trade policy for the world have gone. Many countries especially developing ones are expecting different arrangements from the WTO to foster trade. However, the U.S. and the EU are busy with their own problems of the trade disputes over hormone-treated beef and bananas and Foreign Sales Corporation (FSC). Furthermore, the relative power of the U.S. and the EU becomes weaker as new heavyweight champions are emerging. This article also explains the impacts of bilateral and regional trade agreements flourished during the past two decades on the present and future of the WTO.

Full-text Article: http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=417753&CFID=467262&CFTOKEN=6567573

Case connection:

Trade in Hormone-Treated Beef" in Chapter 5 (pp.150-151).