Trade rules and unfair competition

Robert Walker

Chapter 8 in Is China Right?, 2026, pp 100-115 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Trade brings multiple benefits to nations and their populations alike. However, to maximise these benefits for all, trade needs to be fair. The current trade rules are generally recognised to be discriminatory, favouring developed trading nations more than the developing world. This imbalance reflects the immediate post-war origins of the rules when the interests of colonial powers led by the US and UK were dominant. A neoliberal economic model of trade favoured by the US underpins the World Trade Organisation (WTO) responsible for overseeing fair trade. Despite lobbying within the WTO by the G90 group of developing countries, reform has been slow, contributing to growing inequalities in global living standards. The US and European Union have used the WTO appellant system to enforce neoliberal trade practices and to target China's rise, while petulant US administrations have undermined the effectiveness of the WTO to the benefit of no one.

Keywords: General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs; GATT; World Trade Organisation; WTO; Per-Capita GDP; Trade Benefits; Inequality; Neoliberal Economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035329229
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