UN & WTO & IMF

Reconstructing international organizations such as the United Nations, World Trade Organization, and International Monetary Fund should not only be a top priority, but also more of a collective effort by big states seeking to advance their economic standing. The United Nations was created to replace the failed League of Nations, and prevent any further world wars from occurring. In it’s most basic goal the UN can be looked at as a success because there has been no large-scale wars between nations since World War II. However the UN has potential that isn’t being recognized, due to the fact the United States seems to be the only driving force dealing with the day-to-day operations of the UN. We tend to forget that the United Nations was also created to handle global economic development, and aid nations with struggling economies. With that being said, the United States alone cannot have enough global impact. In my opinion, the problem stems from a lack of governmental authority. There are no substantial consequences for not conforming to the desires of the UN. Being a peaceful organization without binding agreements has tied their hands and greatly diminished the potency of their policies. Not suggesting that the UN should take a more dictatorship-like stance on implementing policy but instead work towards establishing more credibility worldwide. This can be achieved by having members of the UN agree on which policies to implement, and then agreeing to sign said policy into law in each state respectively.

The WTO is another example of an organization that doesn’t hold as much weight as you would expect. The World Trade Organization does not carry any force of law when they attempt to persuade governments against protectionism. If a government decides to impose import taxes to shield domestic business, the WTO cannot make that government remove such tariffs. They can only suggest that that government is hurting it’s own economy and the international economy as well. Lobbyist will still have their way in influencing domestic policies in order to receive tax breaks and keep their businesses on top. Simply painting a picture of why protectionism is bad is not sufficiently addressing the global economic problem. It doesn’t take a PhD holder in the field of economics to realize that states tend to benefit more from relatively free trade, but states have a moral duty to keep jobs inside their borders and not outsource every job in the name of a better global economy. It seems that the WTO will always have to operate under the confinements of the law of the land. The WTO is a great mediator but the proactive role it plays needs to increase.

The IMF has one major issue to be addressed if it is to continue to stand. The United States’ currency was backed by gold under the Bretton Woods system, but ended under Nixon’s presidency. Now we have a situation where the dollar is the supreme currency standing alone, and the reserve funds are also dollars. Straying away from the Bretton Woods system caused a series of unfortunate economic events that which ultimately leads to the decrease of the value of the dollar, which other states had also made as their standing currency. Now we have an IMF pool that is being filled by big state’s quotas whose money cannot keep up with the world’s booming economy. This issue most likely cannot be solved by diplomacy, but rather calculated cuts in big state spending, but as stated earlier it cannot be the United States alone, it must be a collective effort.