Here’s some light reading for you. How about the History and Future of the World Trade Organization. It is “a comprehensive account of the economic, political and legal issues surrounding the creation of the WTO and its evolution. Fully illustrated with colour and black-and-white photos dating back to the early days of trade negotiations, the publication reviews the WTO’s achievements as well as the challenges faced by the organization, and identifies the key questions that WTO members need to address in the future.”
The book describes the intellectual roots of the trading system, membership of the WTO and the growth of the Geneva trade community, trade negotiations and the development of coalitions among the membership, and the WTO’s relations with other international organizations and civil society. Also covered are the organization’s robust dispute settlement rules, the launch and evolution of the Doha Round, the rise of regional trade agreements, and the leadership and management of the WTO.
“The purpose of this work is to not only tell us about our past, but to explain our present and to inform our future,” said WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy.
Craig VanGrasstek, publisher of the Washington Trade Report and a trade consultant, is the author.
Listen to WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy talk about the book here: Comments from Pascal Lamy