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The Activity of WTO Member States in the Trade Policy Review Mechanism

Abstract

This article explores the variation in the reviewing activity of the member
states of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the Trade Policy Review
Mechanism (TPRM). It puts forward a comprehensive descriptive account of
the member states’ reviewing activity in the TPRM in the years 2013 and
2014. The account is based on a quantitative analysis of 12 000 written
questions and a quantitative and content analysis of more than 8000
statements made within the TPRM in the given period. Empirically, we
identify a gap between the reviewing activity of several of the largest actors,
namely Canada, China, the EU, and the USA, and that of the rest of the WTO
membership. Nevertheless, we also find out that the TPRM is not
dominated by the most powerful actors since a relatively high number of
the member states display a considerable amount of reviewing activity.

Keywords

World Trade Organization, Trade Policy Review Mechanism, trade policy, international institutions, international organizations, monitoring, transparency

PDF Consultation (Czech)

Supplementary File(s)

Metodologie obsahové analýzy k článku o aktivitě členských států ve WTO

Author Biography

Jan Karlas

Jan Karlas, born in 1978, he is the head of the Department of International Relations
and a guarantor of the International Relations / Master in International
Relations (MAIN) programme at the Institute of Political Studies of the
Faculty of Social Sciences (FSV UK) in Prague. He studied International
Relations at the Faculty of Social Sciences, and International Relations and
European Studies at Central European University in Budapest. In 2003-2009
he worked as a researcher at the Institute of International Relations in
Prague. He deals with global governance and European integration in his
research.

Michal Parízek

Michal Parízek, born in 1985, he is assistant professor of International Relations at the
Institute of Political Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles
University in Prague. In his research, he studies the design and functioning
of international institutions on multilateral negotiations. Empirically, his
focus is on the World Trade Organization and the European Union. He
lectures on international institutions, negotiations, game theory and
quantitative methods. He studied at Charles University in Prague, the
University of Bath, Princeton University and Freie Universität Berlin.