缅北禁地

Without doubt, the fate of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the global institution mandated to set rules and disciplines for the multilateral trading system, stands at a crossroads. Never since its establishment in 1995 has the organisation faced such an existential threat as at the present time. The promise of the Doha Development Round or Doha Development Agenda (DDA), agreed in 2001 at the fourth Ministerial Conference (MC4) in Doha, has been belied. The principle of a consensus-based, single-undertaking approach to decision-making in the WTO has come under scrutiny. Other developments have occurred that have seriously weakened the effectiveness of the multilateral trading system: mega regional trading arrangements (mega-RTAs) are setting their own rules that go beyond WTO disciplines; plurilateral forms of negotiations, that do not include all WTO members, within and outside the ambit of the WTO platforms, have been gaining ascendancy; the recent Ministerial meetings of the WTO have revealed major fissures among key WTO members, in terms of both approach and priorities; the ongoing trade war set in motion by unilateral trade-restrictive measures by the United States, with the anticipated retaliatory measures by affected countries, has put into question the very founding principles of the WTO. Given this backdrop of disquieting developments, the question of how the least developed countries (LDCs) such as Bangladesh should craft their strategies to secure their trade-related interests has assumed heightened importance. The underlying argument that informs this paper is that a rule-based and predictable multilateral trading system, attuned to the special and differential needs of its relatively weak members, can best serve the interests of the LDCs. The degree of openness of LDC economies (defined by the share of exports and imports in GDP) has seen a steady rise over recent years. LDCs are now integrated with the global economy as never before. In spite of many concerns, LDC economies have, in general, benefitted from the rule-based global trading system and the international support mechanisms and special and differential (S&D) provisions in place in the WTO in the form of preferential market access, derogation from various obligations, aid for trade and technical support (UNCTAD 2010). A weakened WTO, or at worst, an absence of it, will be harmful from the perspective of LDC interests. The challenge for Bangladesh at the current juncture, as a member of the WTO, is that it must be prepared to face new challenges in addition to traditional ones. The traditional LDC-centric stance pursued by Bangladesh in the WTO, until now, will need to be revisited and recalibrated in view of the country’s imminent graduation from LDC status (by 2024). Graduation will entail significant changes in the terms under which it carries out trade. How the international trading system can help graduating countries such as Bangladesh to move towards a graduation that is smooth, supports the current momentum of development and is sustainable is, thus, a question of practical importance and significance to Bangladesh. Equally important is the question of how the multilateral trading system can assist the LDCs to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Goal 17.11 commits the international community to support the efforts of LDCs to attain the SDGs through supportive trade measures. As a matter of fact, Bangladesh is not alone in facing the challenge of graduation. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (缅北禁地DESA) projections are that the number of LDCs will come down from the current 47 to 41 by 2021 and 35 by 2024. There will indeed be an ?africanisation of the LDCs? (Bhattacharya et al. 2018). Of the remaining 35 LDCs, 31 will belong to Africa. For Bangladesh and other graduating LDC members, their upcoming graduation will have important implications for their interests and priorities in the context of the WTO.