Política comercial de um estado frágil: o caso de Guiné-Bissau na organização mundial de comércio

Abstract

Guinea-Bissau has been a member of the WTO since 1995. However, its participation and engagement in the organization's negotiations are limited by the fragility of its institutions and a lack of technical and administrative capacity. The WTO seeks to promote free trade, but it also offers support mechanisms for developing countries or those with fragile economies. Even so, Guinea-Bissau lacks a robust technical framework to participate in complex trade negotiations. The overall objective of this research is to contextualize Guinea-Bissau within the multilateral trade regime, institutionalized by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The country's accession to the multilateral trade regime requires its binding nature to its set of regulations related to the liberalization of trade policy. International regimes are understood in the international policy literature as a set of principles, norms, rules, and decision-making processes that guide the behavior of states. The research was conducted using a qualitative approach. The sources used were bibliographical and documentary. Written documents included documents and reports produced by government institutions and international organizations. The question guiding this research is: to what extent has membership in international trade institutions—such as the World Trade Organization—favored the institutionalization of Guinea-Bissau's trade policy? Despite adherence to the WTO's set of principles and norms, which establishes differentiated rules for implementing commitments made by less developed countries, the study concluded that domestic political challenges (successive coups d'état and government overthrows) impact aspects related to the country's trade policy.