ISAS Working Papers

The WTO generates more passions in debates or discussions on it than most other international organi s ations. This is largely because, more than most other bodies , it is concerned with the daily bread and butter issues affecting the common man. It is also because m any do not see it as very different from the ‘rich man’s club’ it replaced, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ( GATT ) . In reality, however, it is different , both in terms of mandates and membership. It is based on certain principles championing fre e - trade, and it lays down agreed rules for trade in goods and services. It has also acknowledged the role of ‘development’ in fostering trade, a nd the ‘ uneven playing field’ that many members confront. While it was meant to enforce universal norms, over ti me , a large number of RTAs and cross - regional Free Trade Agreements ( FTAs) have been threatening to erode its effectiveness. This ‘spaghetti’ or ‘noodle - bowl’ phenomenon is receiving impetus from the impasse created in the current ‘Doha Round’ of Trade Ne gotiations. Asian RTAs are , however, more politically - driven, and therefore should be seen as WTO - consistent. In fact , concepts such as the massive FTA of the Asia - Pacific, to be realized by 2020 as discussed at the APEC Summit in Yokohama in November 2010 , will be a powerful factor in stabilizing Trans - Pacific political and strategic relations. As of now, they are not seen as threatening ‘core ’ WTO principles , though a modicum of their erosion is inevitable, and WTO rules allow for such regional FTAs , unde r certain conditions. Indeed, th ey are helping the growth o f an Asian consciousness and integration at a time when the contin ent is being seen on the ‘rise’, leading perhaps someday to the fruition of the concept of an ‘Asian Home’