Are the dues unfairly distributed?
Since the assessments are based on gross national product (GNP), richer countries generally pay more and poorer countries less, although there are some exceptions (e.g., Brazil pays more than Liechtenstein even though its per capita income is much lower, because its total GNP is much higher). Beginning in 1974, the Assembly fixed a maximum rate of 25 per cent for any contributor – later reduced to 22 per cent from 2001. So far, this ceiling has benefited only the United States, whose share of total membership GNP is approximately 27 per cent. Without this ceiling, its share would be even higher since, like other countries with high per capita income, it would have been required to contribute to the cost of reductions for the countries with low per capita income. The rates of other Member States are raised to make up for the difference. The country with the second-highest assessed contribution is Japan, which was assessed some 19.7 per cent for 2002, or $218.4 million. The 15 members of
