South Africa: Bridging the Gaps in World Trade Systems

opinion

Johannesburg — THE recent meetings of the Group of Seven (G-7) finance ministers in Essen, Germany, and of legislators from the Group of Eight (G-8) in Washington, were pivotal not only because of their shared focus on climate change but because of which states were invited to participate. Alongside the traditional members were representatives of the five big emergent countries -- China, India, Brazil, Mexico and SA. This process of restructuring reveals the increasingly apparent legitimacy and efficiency gap in the institutional set-up, a deficiency that radiates out from the G-7 and G-8 summit arrangements to the international financial institutions, the World Trade Organisation and beyond. Tackling the most pressing global issues requires buy-in not only from the key industrialised countries, but also from developing ones with clout in their regions.

With about 200 states making up the international system today, consensus is an extraordinarily difficult proposition. Thus, even at the risk of breaking with principles of universality, agreement among a core group of states from the north and south becomes crucial both for immediate problem solving and innovative reform. These informal coalitions may require additional members, depending on the issue, but they will always require the mobilisation of the five emerging powers if they are to be effective.

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