The Caribbean and WTO accession

An important task the WTO faces in pursuit of universality is the integration of nonmembers. Yet, becoming a member of the multilateral trade system is not easy. Accession to the WTO is a complicated and cumbersome process, which on average takes 10 years to complete. For a small state the task of joining the WTO is further protracted because its size poses certain development challenges when acquiring membership. Yet, accession for small states has not always been problematic.Accession jnder the GATT was far easier but under the WTO, accession ha come much more difficult. This thesis explores how accesion for a particular set of small states has changed through time, which it does by examining the Caribbean region. It examines how Caribbean states have joined the multilateral trade system and explores how changes in the accession process have shaped their accession experiences. The Caribbean makes an apposite case study, as not only does the region have a state, the Bahamas, currently in the queue to join the WTO, but it also has a number of states that have been members of ihe GATT/WTO for a long time, therefore permitting for research to tease out if the tuning of accession has an impact upon their accession experience. The thesis also examines whether the issue of smallness shapes accession and subsequent membership. In other words, the thesis explores whether institutional asymmetry affects the Caribbean states disproportionately because of the specificities of their political economies. It develops its argument by exploring the creation and evolution of the multilateral trade system with a key focus on aspects, which have had an impact upon accession. By utilising the conceptual framework of historical institutionalism the thesis argues Caribbean accession is shaped by the manner in which the multilateral trade system was created and evolved.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo