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In Tempestuous Waters: Denmark and the WTO Regime
Erik Beukel
Danish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract
The WTO has become contentious, and Denmark is in the middle of the tempestuous waters. The basic characteristics of the WTO trading regime and the demands for a broader trade agenda are reviewed. Denmark’s WTO policy is outlined and elaborated, including the views of different Danish parties, interest groups, and NGOs. The basis of Denmark’s WTO policy is strong support for the multilateral trading system, as part of an active multilateralism. Denmark supports the demand for a comprehensive agenda in future WTO negotiations, but it rejects the use of trade sanctions as a measure. A large majority of Danish parties and political groupings support the main ideas and principles of the Danish government’s WTO policy, but, at the same time, their different lines of reasoning illustrate the problems facing a small, high-income country, with a rather particular self-image of its active international role. Thus Denmark’s WTO policy reflects traditional Danish values, but Denmark faces troublesome problems as basic Danish ideas and values, directly transferred to international relations, give rise to unexpected and unintended consequences. In the years to come, Denmark’s WTO policy will meet new challenges that originate in changes in global economic-political structures, notably the increasing importance of large and populous third world countries.
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