Resumen de Gregory C. Shaffer and Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz (eds), Dispute Settlement at the WTO: The Developing Country Experience
As the 10th anniversary of the launch of the WTO multilateral trade negotiations at Doha approaches, this collection of essays serves as a painful reminder that the so-called �Doha Development Round� is far from concluded. It also recalls how the WTO's dispute settlement system has continued to have an important �norm-generating function�.1 Nowhere is this more so than in disputes involving developing countries. In some instances developing country Members initiate formal dispute settlement proceedings at the WTO precisely to promote wider reforms of their governance and administrative structures. In others the participation of Member governments in formal dispute settlement procedures at the WTO has been supported by industry and the business sector. A few developing country governments have drawn on dialogue with local civil society organizations in bringing or defending complaints with important social implications for their citizens.
Based on original research and pioneered by the Geneva-based International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), the book under review provides a unique set of case studies of various low-income and middle-income2 developing countries that have been active in WTO dispute settlement over the past decade. Its aim is to share �challenges, experiences, and best practices, and to inform deliberation and debate over what is possible� for developing countries when using the system (at p. xv). The case studies are organized on a regional basis (South America, Asia, and Africa) with selected contributions from each region.
The case study on Brazil in Chapter 1 sets the tone. According to Shaffer, Sanchez Badin, and Rosenberg, the country's success in WTO dispute settlement is attributable to a professionalised Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a supportive and well-organized business sector, and a networked elite of professional lawyers and trade policy specialists. Brazil was one of the first two countries (the other being Venezuela) �
