Shorouk Express
In reality, the WTO is breaking down, tolerating double standards and allowing members to play by different sets of rules. Asymmetry reigns instead of reciprocity.
Carbon emissions are another variable that has dramatically grown for China since its accession to the WTO: They’ve increased by over 200 percent. And this increase offsets the rest of the world’s decrease by far. China accounted for nearly a third of global carbon emissions in 2021. That’s more than the United States, India, Russia, Japan and Iran — the subsequent five largest polluters — combined.
Bottom line, the global climate crisis reinforces the need to take a stand against autocratic systems like China. The real problem with climate change is not the holiday flight to Florida or Mallorca. The problem is that we have little to no influence over the world’s largest carbon polluter. That it pursues a completely different political agenda. And last, but not least, that we, ourselves, contribute to it by outsourcing the climate sins we don’t want in our own backyards to China or elsewhere.
Viewed from today’s perspective, China’s admission as a full member of the WTO was a fundamental error in a trade policy led by wishful thinking. Motivated, as is so often the case, by good intentions, it created an imbalance that has worsened down the years, much to the detriment of democratic market economies.
The main mistake was giving entry to an economically weighty, nondemocratic state, which, due to its own outlook, was unable to adhere to free trade rules. The most ridiculous mistake was to grant China developing country status — which it still has today despite being the second largest economy in the world — with all the exceptions and exemptions that come with it. It’s like granting privileges to the most ruthless kid on the block. Competition couldn’t be more unfair or masochistic.
The result of this experiment was predictable: In the short term, it brought growth and economic success to all participants, but in the long term, it shifted the balance in ways that allowed dependencies and one-sided advantages to emerge. The masochism of the United States and Europe, in particular, led not only to a weakening of their own relative economic power but also, in the end, to an erosion of the entire WTO.
And speaking of the end, the WTO has reached the end of the line. What we see before us now is a dysfunctional and paralyzed colossus — a shadow of its former self. All of which leads to the unsparing conclusion: The WTO should be dissolved.
“Dealings with Dictators: A Ceo’s Guide to Defending Democracy” was published by Simon & Schuster in January 2025.
