Draft Resolution 1.

World Trade
Organization

COMMITTEE : World Trade Organization

TOPIC : The Role of Trade in Approaching the Recession in 2023
SPONSORS : The Republic of Korea, Russian Federation
SIGNATORIES : Commonwealth of Australia, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Kingdom of
Norway, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Thailand, Republic of India, Federative
Republic of Brazil, State of Japan, Canada, Argentine Republic, Federal Republic of Germany,
Republic of Italy, Republic of Venezuela, The Republic of South Africa, United Arab Emirates,
United Kingdom

World Trade Organization,

Guided by the principles of the trading system embodied in the World Trade Organization
(WTO),

Further Guided by principles that help honor the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade
(GATT), to help alleviate Member States from exacerbated recession,

Taking Note that COVID-19, trade wars, and armed conflict have helped exacerbate the
current global recession that forced both developed and developing countries to have lower
growth rates in their Gross Domestic Product (GDP),

Deploring the inefficiencies of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in regard to

upholding its duties as an effective mediator for trade disputes,
 Emphasizing the cause for trade disputes amongst the Member States can be attributed to
the failure on the Appellate Body of the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body,

Concerned with the tensions among the Member States on the criteria that constitute
Special Differentiated Treatment (SDT),

Recalling the need for major internal reforms within the WTO to have more effective
measures in setting guidelines for the Member States to navigate themselves through recessions,

Having examined that regional organizations can serve as a long-term alternative amongst
WTO Member States for avenues for Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and access to new trade
routes to help further develop their economies,

Keeping in Mind that continuous sanctions on countries that do not follow the Western
ideology of governance is considered politicizing the WTO and goes against the principles of fair
trade,

Stressing the need for alternative avenues for Free Trade Agreements (FTA) where
developing countries may not be left out in round discussions if Doha Round Agreements are not
able to accommodate,

Noting Further that the rise of protectionism policies in trade is also a result of reactive
responses from Member States that need to prioritize the interests of their economy and retaliate
against Member States that sanctions them,

Welcoming BRICS+ (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and other emerging
economies that help compensate for the current ineffective trading systems in the WTO through
either acting as third parties or separate regional entities in trade negotiations in countering
global recession,
 Aiming to address the challenges posed by trade protectionism while promoting and
allowing flexibility to accommodate the diverse needs of countries and their economic
circumstances,

Reinforcing Robust Monitoring Mechanism in Trade Policy Review which establishes a

mechanism to monitor and report trade restrictions and protectionist measures implemented by
member countries,

Encourages more future beneficial trade protectionism for developing countries that is
acceptable to their needs and requirements, which could assist developing countries and guide
them to better economic growth,

Emphasizes the importance of striking a balance between promoting open trade and their
policies while adjusting them as needed for necessary protectionism policies,

Urges the use of dialogue, cooperation, and evidence-based decision-making to guide the
implementation of flexible trade protectionism measures while ensuring the principles of
fairness, inclusiveness, and sustainable growth,

Further guided by the principles embodied in the pre-1994 GATT,

Reaffirming the mandate provided by the WTO to ensure smooth and seamless
international trade between nations,

Recognizing the severity of the global economic recession in 2023, as the consequence of
various occurrences mainly the Russo-Ukrainian conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic,

Acknowledging the that every country has the right to determine its economic policies,

Further acknowledging the well-being of their people and international trade is essential
in today's globalized interconnected world,
 Aware of the problems that WTO has faced as an organization, including inefficiency of
dispute settlement system, special and differential treatment (SDT),

Deeply concerned by the current trade gap between countries, especially between
developing and developed countries,

Deeply alarmed by the incoming and potential 2023 world economic recession,

Deploring misuse of special and differential treatment (SDT) by several developed nations,

Bearing in mind that protectionist policies of developing countries are beneficial to some
extent, however, should be avoided once the country has reached a certain level of development,

Hereby Resolves to,

Article I: OVERVIEW SQUIRTLE (Simple and Quick Understanding Rules of Trade)

1. Endorses (SQUIRTLE) Simple and Quick Understanding Rules of Trade: Lifting Economies
and Removing Obstacles as thorough internal reforms within the WTO consisting of significant
issues that must be addressed to help strengthen the present trading systems, including but not
limited to:
a. Dispute Settlement and Understanding,
b. The adaptability of Trade Practices,
c. Open Dialogue on Free Trade Agreements (FTA);

2. Encourages (ERRA) Economic Recession Recovery Alliance: A program where it provisions

aid, advice, and assistance to countries to assist and give guidelines during a pre-recession
period, recession, and post-recession as it gives:
a. Advice: Gives possible solutions to and provides advice to WTO and respective countries
about the precautions, factors, and impacts of economic recession,
 b. Assistance: The ERRA committee will provide assistance to address issues about the
economic recession and assist them to implement possible sustainable solutions that
could help them tackle the recession,
c. Aid: The ERRA Committee will also cooperate with other nations and UN agencies to
offer relief (such as food supplies, material supplies, etc.) to countries that experience
severe economic issues as a result of the economic slowdown;

Article II Addressing Protectionism Policies

3. Recommends the promotion of balanced protectionism policy and free-trade policy for
Member States to ensure that protectionism policies are used limitedly and strictly for the
right purpose and support growth for developing countries;
4. Recommends the GRIT (Global Reexamination on International Trade) framework to
incentivize negotiation talks and agreements between Member States by:
a. Conducting negotiation talks and forums to bridge cooperation between
developed countries and developing countries with protectionism policies,
b. Require Member States to provide a negative or positive list of products or
industries or industries restricted for import,
c. Take notes of Member States that implement country-specific bans and invite
them to negotiate and reconsider the bans;
5. Calls upon Member States to endorse, and promote responsible, transparent, predictable,
and fair trade practices and policies;
6. Supports the utilization of Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (TBT) if there is no
preexisting tension between Member States over political disputes on ideologies;
8. Encourages the use of adaptive protectionist policies as a means of economic growth
through the following circumstances:
a. As a means of retaliation if there is no proper dispute settlement agreement
between two Member States in regard to unjust trade barriers,
b. Reactive measures to protect and defend the local economy and empower local
sectors to generate employment,
c. Restriction of particular materials that are below the international price to ensure
quantities of materials in the domestic market under Article XX of GATT,
 d. Long-Term bargaining to help resolve conflict disputes;
7. Resolves that the Member States are free to use protectionist policies under justified
causes and can happen in parallel with Free Trade as long it's within a country-to-country
basis or under major disputes;
8. Recognizes the Sovereign Right to Protectionist Measures:
a. Admits that were justified by their own national economic, social, or
environmental interests, Member States have the right to enact protectionist
policies,
b. Highlights the need for transitory, appropriate, and WTO-compliant protectionist
measures,
c. Calls on Member States to be cautious when enacting protectionist legislation and
make an effort to be open about their decision-making:
i. Insert the decision-making in either Trade Policy Review or Good
Schedule by WTO,
ii. The template of decision-making for protectionist rights should be
available for all countries that wish to enforce the right;
9. Encourages assistance towards domestic industries to open up trade, by respective
nation's governments in order for the goal of increasing economic growth to be reached,
while easing the flow of global trade, by such methods but not limited to:
a. Enabling more accessible rules and procedures of trade,
b. Making trade regulations more familiar for these industries,
c. Accommodating training programs aimed towards domestic industries in order to
strengthen their skills and knowledge of global trade;

10. Supports the utilization of Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (TBT) if there is no
preexisting tension between Member States over political disputes on ideologies;
11. Encourages the use of adaptive protectionist policies as a means of economic growth
through the following circumstances:
a. As a means of retaliation if there is no proper dispute settlement agreement
between two Member States in regard to unjust trade barriers,
 b. Reactive measures to protect and defend the local economy and empower local
sectors to generate employment,
c. Restriction of particular materials that are below the international price to ensure
quantities of materials in the domestic market under Article XX of GATT,
d. Long-Term bargaining to help resolve conflict disputes;

12. Resolves that the Member States are free to use protectionist policies under justified
causes and can happen in parallel with Free Trade as long it's within a country-to-country
basis or under major disputes;
13. Recognizes the Sovereign Right to Protectionist Measures:
a. Admits that were justified by their own national economic, social, or
environmental interests, Member States have the right to enact protectionist
policies,
b. Highlights the need for transitory, appropriate, and WTO-compliant protectionist
measures,
c. Calls on Member States to be cautious when enacting protectionist legislation and
make an effort to be open about their decision-making:
iii. Insert the decision-making in either Trade Policy Review or Good
Schedule by WTO,
iv. The template of decision-making for protectionist rights should be
available for all countries that wish to enforce the right;

Article III Special and Differential Treatment

14. Encourages the implementation of MEAL Framework (Monitor, Evaluate, Amend,
Lay Transparency) to update the categorization of developing countries recognized by
WTO with the agenda set to:
a. Monitor growth and development,
b. Evaluate their eligibility for benefits from SDT or the current status they hold,
c. Amend data and policy if there is a need for changes to ensure the smooth flow of
international trade,
d. Lay transparency behind these internal processes,
 e. Encourages the implement more comprehensive, periodical measures for the
categorization of developing countries as such:
a. Human Development Index (HDI),
b. Current per capita income,
c. Poverty rates,
d. Agricultural sector;
15. Suggests the creation and inclusion of the right of participation for related Member
States in negotiation and provide suggestion on the implementation of categorization by
reporting and/or participating to:
a. Provide contextual basis and information of the respective countries' condition to
ensure that the categorization is within the socio-economic context of the related
country,
b. Urge countries to participate in the decision-making process within the WTO
body in regard to the categorization of the respective country,
c. Notify the WTO of any modifications to the economic situation within the
country and any potential changes to the status with an annual report;
16. Supports the strengthening and diversification of local industries in developing
nations through the strategy E.R.A. (Educate, Reinforce, Assist) to revitalize resilient
industries, the strategy is as follows:
a. Conduct capacity building in developing countries through technical assistance
and support programs,
b. Encourage economic diversification to develop new industries and expand
exports to decrease reliance on imports,
c. Recommends support programs and subsidies to promote green industries and
renewable energy for sustainable growth;

Article IV Fair and Efficient Dispute Settlement

17. Encourages neutral panels in dispute settlement to create a fair and transparent
process with the Member States by:
 a. Ensuring that judges who oversee the dispute settlement or resolution process are
neutral parties with a verified track record for the unbiased and impartial dispute
settlement process,
b. Providing guidelines on drafting awards or proposing awards to the losing party and
lessening harsh consequences,
c. Establish clear criteria and qualifications for Appellate Body membership, ensuring
a diverse pool of highly qualified individuals with expertise in international trade
law,
d. Recommends the completion of the judicial appointments for the Appellate Body of
the WTO through more dialogue and discretion of other Member States with more
specific criteria on how they should be selected through the following but not
limited to:
i. Non-discrimination in developing and emerging economies,
ii. Understanding the scope of what WTO can do as a global mediator and
standardizer but not a binding force due to the circumstances of Member
States,
iii. Endorses the understanding of Member States that have different political
ideologies;
18. Stresses the need on improving the flow of the dispute settlement body through the
following:
a. Improving the caliber of the first stage of panel decisions through:
i. Understanding the excessive use of sanctions between countries that are not
directly armed in conflict with each other is not under the category of national
security within the Article XXI of the General Agreement of Tariffs and
Trade (GATT),
ii. The utilization of excessive trade barriers that were not properly consulted to
the accused party under Article XXII (Consultation) of the GATT,
b. Prioritizing appeals on countries that are under heavy sanctions and/or under
Special and Differentiated Treatment in the matter of protectionism,
c. Increasing the participation of women in conflict resolution in matters of trade,
d. Enhancing the transparency of third parties,
 e. Build government-to-government understanding to compose mutual benefits
outcome to assist in resolving geopolitical tensions and narrowing the gap
between its developed and developing member nations, without prejudice to all
nations,
f. Suggesting the semi-integration of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) and the
Appellate Body under one umbrella body to ensure a more transparent and
effective dispute settlement of two bodies while having the simplicity and
efficiency of one body;
19. Boost Public Outreach and Transparency through the following but not limited to:
a. Enhanced Reporting: Publicize more thorough and in-depth analyses of incidents
involving conflict resolution, Confidential information will be protected while
providing thorough explanations of the legal arguments, conclusions, and rationale
underlying panel and Appellate Body rulings,
b. Case Summaries: Create succinct and intelligible summaries of dispute resolution
cases to make them easier for the general public and non-experts to understand.
These summaries can clearly and succinctly illustrate important issues, findings,
and implications,
c. Public Hearings: To promote transparency and enable public criticism of the
dispute resolution process, consider holding public hearings for a small number of
high-profile cases. This may enhance the system's credibility and legitimacy;
20. Instructs the setting of the standards for what qualifies a Member State as a
developing nation, regardless of the Member States' geography and landmass, including
but not limited to:
a. Current per capita income,
b. Poverty rates,
c. Agricultural sector,
d. Human capital development;
21. Endorses the process of categorization of the Member States within the WTO to have
benefits of SDTs through the following but not limited to:
a. Setting categories that draw the line of developing countries that are either
emerging economies or the most disadvantaged by labeling:
 i. Developing Country,
ii. Least Developing Country (LDCs),
b. Utilizing WTO’s Trade Policy Mechanisms to help identify and aid the Member
States that can be classified under SDT such as but not limited to:
i. Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPMM) to help examine the trade
policies and practices that are under the interests of the WTO for SDT,
ii. Trade Policy Capacity Building Mechanism (TPCBM) to serve as a
technical support program to help the Member States under SDT be provided
with the tools and resources that are needed for them the implement WTO
rules and formulate better trade policies,
iii. Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) to help conduct a detailed
analysis of each WTO Member State under SDT to ensure data tracking and
openness,
iv. Equal Trade Program (ETP), which is a program that will monitor and
verify WTO’s regulations and confirm that countries conduct equal and
non-discriminatory trade, and working with the World Bank, United Nations
Of Project Services (UNOPS), etc to strengthen its purpose,
c. Continued utilization of the Generalized System of Preference (GSP) to help
devise the list of developing countries that will benefit from SDT,
d. The categorization of developing countries should be done once every four years,
following the term renewal of appointed Appellate Body members;
22. Expresses its hope for improvements in the benefits of Member States under SDTs through
the following but not limited to:
a. Priority for appealing in trade disputes, especially in regard to sanctions,
b. Increase flexibility to abide by WTO regulations, relaxing responsibilities, and providing
technical support,
c. Improved understanding of ‘’special circumstances’’ of Member states on what has
happened to their economic standing such as but not limited to:
i. Unfair sanctions,
ii. Reactive protectionist policies,
iii. Armed conflict,
 d. Increasing resources that can be allocated to developing Member States for rule
enforcement and bolstering dispute resolution process, especially for LDCs;

Article V Trade Agreements

23. Further Invites the Member States for resumption of summit talks that acts accordingly to the
principles of the Doha Agreements that focus on the discussions but not limited to:
a. Ensure the safe trade flow of basic commodities that are vital for industries,
b. Prevent the restrictions of the following:
i. Agriculture Produces,
ii. Medical Services and Pharmaceutical Equipment,
iii. Energy products,
c. Utilization of the Aid for Trade Initiative, which is supplemented by the TPCBM to help
with economic adjustments in times of pandemic and rising inflation prices,
d. Alternative energies;
24. Requests Member States to collaborate to help enhance trade policies that are adjustable and
equipped for the digitalization of trade through the following but not limited to:
a. Following the principles of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS) in helping incentivize developing countries in improving their technology,
b. Collaboration with the Member States in agreements in consultation with OECD and
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on:
i. E-commerce to define guidelines for capitalizing on the digital economy and encourage
Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMEs) to participate more actively in digital trade,
ii. Decrease the obstacles to digital trade, such as limitations on unfair treatment or data
flow freedom on digital services and goods in different sectors;

Article VI Public Forum

25. Urges the promotion of Trade and Economic Consultation Hub (TECH) to help
provisioning countries in need of commodities when they are affected by shortages by:
 a. Conducting bilateral or multilateral symposiums discussing current needs and scarcity
and mutual interests or incentives to fulfill the needs of countries;
b. Recommending countries to increase their import from developing countries to the
extent that its appropriate balance of trade, to aid in the growth of the economy in
developing countries,
c. Helping developing countries to export their commodities if there is a nuisance or
obstacle especially that caused by the administration,
26. Endorses collaboration with other UN bodies to resolve implications of trade liberalization
such as the following organizations but not limited to:
a. ILO to NGOs to include meaningful contributions to adequately address issues like
infringement of labor rights and unemployment that have arisen from,
b. UNEP and NGOs to include meaningful contributions to adequately address issues such
as environmental sustainability while maintaining safe and inclusive free trade,
27. Further, BRICS Plus and Allies Member States be an avenue to help represent developing
countries to have improved representation on disputes, trade regimes, and other international
political economy matters in the WTO Forum in regard to the matters but not limited to:
a. Reforms in the WTO,
b. Lack of energy materials,
c. Alternate trade;
28. Encourages Promoting Interests in Knowledge Application (PIKA) by an alternative
long-term avenue for developing Member States to be aided with knowledge transfer on
a. Diversifying their energy sector to generate employment,
b. Avenue for new FTAs to help curb recession from sanctions,
c. Training and funding for projects on sustainable infrastructure development for new trade
routes and sectors supported by the NDB;
29. Further invites countries with major exportation of oil should try and follow a
PHASE-DOWN approach at their discretion when they are capable to diversify their energy
sector through the following but not limited to:
a. Trade of commodities that are essential for renewable energy technology,
b. Long-term support on research and development with other UN organizations such as
UNDP,
 c. Long-term coordination with a national policy with business sectors,
d. Technology transfer from bilateral negotiations,
e. Trade symposiums consisting of emissions control on factories and shipping media such
as ships, and aircraft;

Article VII Funding

30. Calls for the provision of funds to endorse the implementations of solutions mentioned above
from the following organizations for funding needed as such but not limited to:
a. International Monetary Fund (IMF),
b. The World Bank,
c. WTO Trust Funds are funded by the following:
i. Volunteering nations,
ii. Volunteering organizations,
iii. Volunteering individuals,
d. Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs),
e. Governmental involvement through enforcement of ODA.