The prospects of Belarus’s membership in the World Trade Organization

Abstract

WTO in the contemporary world, the barriers to Belarus’s membership in this organization as well as consequences of a potential accession. Further he describes the path of Belarus to WTO membership as well as accomplishments which facilitate the accession. According to the author, in spite of the changes liberalizing the economy that have been introduced, there is a little chance for Belarus to become a WTO member in the foreseeable future. The author describes a number of barriers that hinder or make it even impossible for Belarus to become a WTO member. The ineffective economic model (central control), the lack of necessary liberalization reforms and privatization are the obstacles to accession. There are no significant changes in the Belarusian economy leading to escalation of problems, the crisis intensifies and social discontent increases. Furthermore, the author analyses consequences for Belarus of Russia joining the WTO. As the author indicates this forced the other members of the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia to automatically adhere to the liberalization of trade conducted by Russia in line with the obligation arising from the membership in the WTO. Belarus is exposed to the negative effects of Russia’s accession to the WTO without receiving any benefits in return. One of the main problems is that Belarusian goods are of low quality and thus they are unable to compete with foreign products. In addition, the technology in Belarus is underdeveloped and this intensifies the inefficiency of the Belarusian economic model, preventing accession to the WTO.