The Spaghetti Bowl of Preferential Trade Agreements and the Declining Relevance of the WTO

摘要

When Jagdish Bhagwati warned of the danger posed by an overwhelming multitude of PTAs,~(93) he was correct in believing that these would dilute the multilateral system proffered by the WTO. As the failure of the Doha talks and the resultant deferral to PTAs in their wake has clearly demonstrated, that dilution has resoundingly occurred. More importantly though, that PTAs were occurring at the time of the WTO's formation, and that they have occurred with increasing frequency ever since, is ample demonstration that few if any ever really wanted or believed in the promise of the WTO in the first place.