Accession in Atrophy

Arab attitudes toward the World Trade Organization (WTO) are mixed: at one extreme is Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi, who opened the latest Africa-European Union summit at the end of November by branding the WTO, and other international trade organizations,  as “terrorists.” “We call for the elimination of the WTO, because it does not serve our interests,” Qaddafi said. “It wants us to open our borders to foreign goods to kill our industries.” Though most of the region does not share this point of view, there is a palpable indifference to the organization throughout. The Arab world is greatly underrepresented in the WTO, with only 12 out of 22 Arab League members having joined, a much weaker representation than in other regions. Interest in the WTO among Arab states is growing, however: from the initial nine that were founding members of the WTO, three have acceded in the years following while