Advantages and risks of entry of Ukraine to the WTO

Discussions which appeared in Ukraine in connection with its entering to the World Trade Organization (WTO) are characterized by a very wide range of thoughts – from the euphoric greeting of this event and expectation of the numerous goods which will almost cover the heads of Ukrainians like a heavy shower, to prophecies of almost catastrophic consequences, with an appeal against assertion, they say, like until now on the whole no researches of what can happen during a period after the entry of Ukraine to the WTO are conducted.

Both these approaches are very distant from the real state of affairs and it seems they foremost result from a priori set political and ideological tastes, but not from the deep understanding of realities of international trade and system of its regulation in the modern world. And in practice the weighed analysis of consequences of entering has to result not from emotions, but from deep knowledge, first of all from the theory of international trade and effects proved by it from liberalization of trade and influence of institutions of market economy on economic development; secondly, what actually the WTO is and what tasks it settles at the present stage of the development, what strong and weak sides of its activity are; thirdly, practical experience of countries which had entered the WTO earlier, both positive and negative experience.

Volodymyr SIDENKO