Page 63 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

Fakhri M. Mammadov: Azebaijan–WTO relations, problems and future perspectives

IV. The principle moment is the level of tariff protection on vulnerable goods. The rates

on these goods must be connected with respect to real level of support which the Government

can ensure in medium-term perspective as well as volume and norms, permitted by WTO.

Conclusion

People have different views of the WTO's "multilateral" trading system and of the WTO

as a forum for countries to thrash out their differences on trade issues. Critical remarks about the

WTO, however, are often based on an improper understanding of how the system works. There

is thought that The WTO dictates state policy to member governments. This is not true. The

WTO does not tell governments how to conduct their trade policies. Rather, it's a "member-

driven" organization. WTO agreements result from negotiations among member governments,

decisions are made by consensus and are ratified by all members' parliaments.

The only occasion when a WTO body can use an enforcement mechanism and thus have

a direct impact on the government's policies is the case of a ruling given by the Dispute

Settlement following filing the complaint about it to the WTO.

Another misunderstanding is that WTO membership results in loss of sovereignty by its

members. In fact, the WTO is in no way different from other international organizations, which

do not require from their member states to delegate any part of their national sovereignty. The

WTO does not regulate property issues, macroeconomic, structural, antimonopoly policy,

currency exchange policy, budget issues, investments regime (except investments in the services

sector, as well as trade related investment measures); it does not interfere with defense and

security issues. Any trade agreement, and this is also true for the World Trade Organization, does

not prevent member governments from withdrawal from it, when they consider this necessary.

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