The impacts of the mega agreements on the BRICS: in search for a new global governance for trade at the WTO

Abstract

While some of the BRICS countries were still beginning its participation on the multilateral trading system as members of the WTO, major players such as the United States and the European Union were changing their attention from the WTO – where negotiations of the Doha Round were at an impasse, despite the success of the Bali Ministerial, to the negotiations of preferential trade agreements. In the field of international trade, Brazil, India and South Africa were founding members of the GATT. China acceded to the World Trade Organization – WTO in 2001, after 15 years of negotiations. Russia has only acceded to the organization in 2012, after 19 years of negotiations, becoming the last big economy to enter the WTO.