ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the World Trade Organization (WTO) in terms of its organization and its role in handling contemporary trade issues. It also explores the relationship between multinational corporations (MNCs) and international trade. European states and Japan, each to varying degrees, formulate some kind of industrial policy, which is a concerted plan to develop certain sectors of the economy and manage international trade. Industrial policy tends to favor certain groups over others in terms of subsidies and tax breaks. The case studies in the chapter illustrate how international organizations are both actors in, and sites of, global trade politics. The chapter investigates the ongoing case of the Boeing-Airbus dispute to understand the influence of the WTO on increasingly interdependent societies. The Boeing–Airbus case shows how direct and indirect subsidies are important, and how state interests evolve over time. The case also shows that MNCs are also social and political actors participating in world politics shaping security and trade.
