IX. Translate into English:

1. Світова організація торгівлі – це провідна міжнародна економічна організація, функціями якої є встановлення правил міжнародної системи торгівлі і вирішення спірних питань між країнами – членами.

2. СОТ є потужною і впливовою міжнародною структурою, що здатна виконувати функції міжнародного економічного регулювання.

3. Членство у СОТ стало обов’язковою умовою для будь – якої країни, що прагне інтегруватися у світове господарство.

4. Система СОТ допомагає безперешкодному здійсненню торгівлі, зміцнює міжнародну стабільність і співробітництво.

5. Процес приєднання України до системи ГАТТ/ СОТ розпочався 17 грудня 1993 року, коли було прийнято рішення про створення Робочої групи з розгляду заявки України щодо приєднання.

6. Наступним кроком відповідно до процедури приєднання стало подання на розгляд Робочої групи Меморандуму про зовнішньоторговельний режим України.

7. Після ознайомлення з Меморандумом розпочалися переговори про вступ у багатосторонньому форматі.

8. Найбільш відчутний прорив у переговорному процесі був досягнутий протягом 2005 – 2007 років, коли Україна отримала статус країни з ринковою економікою, була скасована поправка Джексона – Вейніка, завершені переговори з країнами – членами СОТ.

9. 5 лютого 2008 року на засіданні Генеральної Ради Світової організації торгівлі прийнято рішення про приєднання України до Марракеської угоди про заснування СОТ, того ж дня Президент Віктор Ющенко та керівники СОТ підписали Угоду про вступ України до організації.

10. 10 квітня 2008 року Верховна Рада ратифікувала Протокол про вступ України до СОТ, а 16 травня Україна стала 152-им oфіційним членом СОТ.

X. Discuss the following:

1. Third World Countries Go into Debt with Western Powers: What Can They Reasonably Expect to Gain from WTO negotiations?

2. Since Its Very Inception, the WTO Has Been the Focus of Global Media, Attention and Harsh Criticism from Left and Right, from Developing and Industrialized Nations Alike.

Unit 9

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Read the text and decide whether the sentences are true or false:

Founded in 1967 with the mandate to foster economic cooperation among its five original members, ASEAN soon came to serve as a forum for resolving conflicts and promoting peace. Some forty years later, it has ten members and has become Asia’s premier regional organization. It has also been a force in creating other Asian regional groups like the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).The latter has brought together key players in East Asia, such as India and former arch-enemies Japan and China, in a forum to discuss political and security cooperation. Today ASEAN is a force to be reckoned with.

ASEAN was established by Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, at the height of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, to promote regional security and economic development. External threats played a prominent role in ASEAN’s creation and survival since the founding states wanted to minimize manipulation and domination by major powers, most notably the United States and China. They were also concerned about Chinese-supported communist insurgencies and about separatist movements but deliberately chose not to create a military alliance. ASEAN’s founders were well aware of the profound historical, cultural, and economic circumstances that divided them, but also recognized the advantages of regular consultation and cohesion.

The core principle of ASEAN is nonintervention in the internal affairs of other members. This derived not just from the international norm but also from the series of Asian conferences. Nonintervention does not necessarily mean no involvement in others’ affairs, but it does mean refraining from open criticism and providing no support to oppositional movements. It has also meant there was little interest in integration. One of ASEAN’s most distinctive characteristics is the so-called ASEAN Way, which is the process of informal consultation and consensus building (rather than majority voting), through which decisions are made. It involves avoiding legalistic procedures, a preference for nonbinding resolutions, and an emphasis on “process over product”. If there is no consensus, the members agree to disagree. If there is an intractable dispute, members set it aside and focus on cooperation in other areas. This is clearly a recipe for conflict avoidance rather than conflict resolution.

ASEAN’s power structure remains rooted in its governmental origins. Its supreme organ is the Heads of Government, who meet formally every three years and informally as often as once a year. Beneath them, national ministers meet more frequently to set policy on foreign affairs, economics, and finance. The ASEAN secretary-general, whom the foreign ministers appoint to a five-year term, together with a standing committee of national bureaucrats, report to the annual ministerial committee on topics that come up during the year. The permanent committee is the most powerful and prominent of several, including committees on trade and tourism, finance and banking, social development and budget. On all the permanent committees, subcommittees, and ad hoc committees sit national government officials. The standing committee of national bureaucrats appoints directors nominated by member states, whose economics and foreign ministers charge each committee with follow-up on decisions made at ASEAN meetings. So, action on ASEAN policies is left to the national bureaucracies, and each member has a national ASEAN secretariat as part of its own civil service.

In 1976, ASEAN member states created a regional secretariat too, led by the secretary-general. As the most fully developed ASEAN institution, the secretariat is tasked with coordinating between the committees, proposing policies, and ensuring that decisions are carried out properly. But it has only a few dozen staff members. And not only the secretary-general, but all ASEAN officials are appointed by the member governments.

ASEAN’s role in Cambodian settlement and the Cold War’s end paved the way for expansion to ten members. This accomplished the goal of becoming “the Asian 10”.Enlargement has increased ASEAN’s political and economic diversity and magnified the challenges of consensus decision-making. All four new members (Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Cambodia) are less developed than the others; two have communist regimes; all have major human rights problems with Burma being the worst; one (Cambodia) is highly unstable. The United States and the EU along with NGOs actively opposed Burma’s membership. Still, ASEAN set no conditions other than adherence to the agreement on political cooperation and to economic reforms so that they could join AFTA within ten years. In effect, however, ASEAN is now a two-tiered organization where accommodating differences may require allowing countries to opt out or push ahead on certain issues.

In addition to broadening its membership, ASEAN has expanded its agenda to virtually all areas of public policy, including human rights and the environment. ASEAN has formed or certified many private sector groups from business and tourism, but also from such diverse areas as journalism, women’s affairs, trade unionism, and orchid growing. Though they have no legislative powers, these groups bring people from a broader spectrum of ASEAN society into the organization’s fold. Throughout the region, community-based organizations (CBOs) have helped city governments tackle water and air pollution problems in slum areas. ASEAN has had a hard time interfacing with these CBOs, because they often deal with people living in illegal conditions and because government agencies cannot work with them. This is unfortunate: cooperation with CBOs is one of the main opportunities for ASEAN to encourage popular participation.

In addition to CBOs, over fifty NGOs have formal affiliations with the ASEAN secretariat. Civil society groups, for instance, fully participated in the Asian regional human rights meeting. To broaden participation and representation in ASEAN, delegates suggested the creation of a regional parliament (similar to the European Parliament).But no steps were taken to make this parliament a reality.

In matters of security, ASEAN’s predominant approach has been conflict management by avoidance. Yet in a region marked by a plethora of territorial disputes, ASEAN has created a framework for improving bilateral relations toward the end of dispute resolution.

The framework that ASEAN provided enabled its members to concentrate on building their economies. It also shaped the manner in which outside powers dealt with the region. And since 1994, ASEAN has promoted broader regional security through its sponsorship of the ASEAN Regional Forum.

With respect to economic cooperation, the ASEAN members adopted an outward orientation of integration into the global economy rather sub-regional integration as their strategy for growth. They were among the first developing countries to embrace export-led growth and to liberalize trade and investment. Four members (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand) made great economic and social strides, and ASEAN itself was widely regarded as the developing world’s most successful sub-regional institution.

1. Founded with the mandate to foster socioeconomic cooperation among its five original members, ASEAN soon came to serve as a forum for resolving conflicts.______

2. It has also been a force in creating other regional groups.______

3. The principle of ASEAN is nonintervention in the domestic affairs of other members._______

4. The most distinctive characteristics of ASEAN is the process of informal consultation and consensus building.______

5. ASEAN's power structure remains rooted in its parliamentary origins._____

6. All ASEAN officials are appointed by the member governments._____

7. Enlargement has not increased ASEAN's political and economic diversity and magnified the challenges of consensus decision making._____

8. ASEAN set no conditions other than adherence to the agreement on economic cooperation and to political reforms._____

9. ASEAN has promoted broader regional security through its sponsorship of the ASEAN Regional Forum.____

10. The ASEAN members adopted the outward orientation of integration into the local economy._____

Choose the most suitable word/word combination/part of the sentence and fill in the gaps:

1. Some forty years later, ASEAN has _________ member and has become Asia's premier regional organization.

1. ten

1. twelve

1. thirteen

1. twenty – one

2. External threats played a prominent role in ASEAN's creation and survival since the founding states wanted to minimize domination by major powers, most notably by _________.

1. the U.S. and China

1. the U.S. and Australia

1. China and Australia

1. the EU and the U.S.

3. ASEAN has created a framework for improving _________.

1. its image on the international arena

2. bilateral relations toward the end of dispute resolution

3. multilateral relations in Asia

4. trade relations

4. ASEAN members were among the first developing countries to embrace _________ and to liberalize trade and investment.

1. export - led growth

2. import - led growth

3. economic growth

4. agricultural growth

5. ASEAN itself was regarded as the developing world's most successful _________.

1. Regional Forum

1. Asian union

1. sub-regional institution

1. community - based organization

Exercises and Tasks

1. Complete the text with the following words: consultation, agree, a force, groups, consensus, reckoned, separatist, dispute, aware, involvement, opt, organ, concerned, agenda, criticism.

1. ASEAN has been ________ in creating other Asian regional ________ like AFTA and ARF.

2. Today ASEAN is a force to be _________ with.

3. The founding states were _________ about Chinese - supported insurgencies and about _________ movements.

4. ASEAN's founders were _________ of profound circumstances that divided them, but also recognized the advantages of regular ________ and cohesion.

5. Nonintervention does not mean any _________ in other affairs, but it does mean refraining from open _______ and providing no support to oppositional movements.

6. If there is no ________, the members ________ to disagree.

7. If there is an intractible _________, members set it aside and focus on cooperation in other areas.

8. The Supreme ________ is the Heads of Government.

9. ASEAN is now a two- tiered organization where differences may require allowing countries to ________ out or push ahead on certain issues.

10. ASEAN has expanded its ________ to virtually all areas of public policy, including human rights and the environment.