>Doug Henwood wrote:
>
>> Translated, this means that the U.S. doesn't like it that each
>> country has one vote, meaning that Africa together has greater weight
>> than the G-7 countries. No doubt they'd prefer something more like
>> the WB/IMF, where votes are weighted by income, and only the U.S. has
>> veto power.
>.
>I thought this mostly applies to the actual WTO as a staff-run institution.
>When the trade negotiations start, it's hardly one country one vote. There
>are all sorts of mechanisms - not just the Green Rooms, but also pervasive
>bilateral pressure, using aid budgets and lending agencies - to keep the
>poor countries in line, no?
>
>What evidence is there that the US is dissatisfied?
The wording of the Times piece confirms what Bhagwati told Liza and me - that Washington doesn't like the consensus structure of the WTO. All the code words - Africa coming of age, the messy process, etc. - make the point that they've wised up to the Green Room strategy and it isn't working.
Doug