Trade multilateralism in the twenty-first century faces a serious test as weakness in the global economy and fast-paced technological changes create a challenging environment for world trade. This book examines how an updated and robust, rules-based multilateral framework, anchored in the WTO, remains indispensable to maximizing the benefits of global economic integration and to reviving world trade. By examining recent accessions to the WTO, it reveals how the growing membership of the WTO has helped to support domestic reforms and to strengthen the rules-based framework of the WTO. It argues that the new realities of the twenty-first century require an upgrade to the architecture of the multilateral trading system. By erecting its 'upper floors' on the foundation of existing trade rules, the WTO can continue to adapt to a fast-changing environment and to maximize the benefits brought about by its ever-expanding membership.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Foreword / WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo -- Acknowledgements -- Making trade multilateralism work for all : the role of wto accessions / Alexei Kireyev and Chiedu Osakwe -- WTO accessions and the new trade multilateralism -- The WTO and the changing state of the global economy / Alexei Kireyev -- The art and science of negotiation : de-politicizing and technicizing negotiations / Micheline Calmy-Rey and Svenja Rauch -- The accession of Kazakhstan : dealing with complexity / Alexei Kireyev, Chiedu Osakwe and Anna Varyanik -- Helping businesses navigate WTO accession / Arancha González -- WTO rules, accession protocols and mega-regionals : complementarity and governance in the rules-based global economy / Mala Leki and Chiedu Osakwe -- Promoting good governance : from encouraging a principle to taking concrete action : examples from wto accession protocols and the WTO trade facilitation agreement / Juneyoung Lee, Nora Neufeld and Anna Varyanik -- Transforming accessions data into knowledge / Chiedu Osakwe, Hubert Escaith, Vicky Chemutai and Ying Yan -- Negotiators' perspectives on the WTO accession process -- Liberia : lessons from a fast-track accession / Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Axel Addy -- Afghanistan's accession : challenged by conflict / Humayoon Rasaw -- The WTO accession of seychelles : lessons from a small island economy / Pierre Laporte, Charles Morin and Cillia Mangroo -- WTO accession negotiations from a negotiator's perspective / Atsuyuki Oike -- Accessions acquis : thematic perspectives and implementation challenges -- How post-TRIPS negotiations reframe the "trade-related aspects" of intellectual property after TRIPS : the lessons of WTO accessions / Antony Taubman -- Competition policy in WTO accessions : filling in the blanks in the international trading system / Robert D. Anderson, Anna Caroline Müller and Nivedita Sen -- Geographical indications in the accessions landscape / Tatiana Yanguas Acosta -- Wto accession commitments on agriculture : lessons for WTO rule-making / Diwakar Dixit -- The WTO-plus obligations : dual class or a strengthened system? / Nannan Gao and Fangying Zheng -- Accession protocols and the private sector / Josefita Pardo de León and Mariam Soumaré -- Post-accession support platform / Maika Oshikawa -- Conclusion : trade multilateralism : enhancing flexibility, preserving the momentum / Alexei Kireyev and Chiedu Osakwe -- Annex: Contributor biographies -- Index.