Improving the WTO. (Politics).

Claude E. Barfield, Free Trade, Sovereignty, Democracy: The Future of the World Trade Organization. AEI Press, 1150 17th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

Since its creation in 1995, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been very controversial. American Enterprise Institute scholar Claude Barfield offers several reforms the WTO can implement to become a less controversial and more productive force for advancing free trade.

Become less secretive. Nearly all of the WTO's proceedings are behind closed doors, leading to charges that the organization has things to hide. Advocates of secrecy contend that it's necessary to prevent governments from grandstanding or using the media to block international trade negotiations. But Barfield finds these fears unfounded. While proprietary corporate data introduced during WTO deliberations should remain confidential, all briefs introduced by governments should be available on the Internet as soon as they're presented by a WTO member state.

Keep nonprofits out. Some major nonprofits (chiefly environmental organizations) are clamoring to join the WTO with the same voting privileges as member states. They cite as precedent that some of the United Nations' affiliate agencies allow nonprofits as full members. But these international organizations do not have any power to make decisions that are binding on nations and corporations. Given that the WTO does have such power, it's important that government representatives who are accountable ...