Developing Countries And The Multilateral Trading System

This book provides a historical perspective of the Uruguay Round agreement and focuses on the interaction between the developed and developing countries on matters relating to the global trading system and its disciplines since the founding of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

A Brookings Institution Press and the Center for Business and Government at Harvard University publication The multilateral trading system stands at a crossroads. Despite its widely acknowledged contribution to global prosperity over the past half century, the movement toward further liberalization has increasingly been challenged. These essays by leading scholars and trade officials honor Raymond Vernon, one of the architects of the international economic institutions established following the Second World War. The book examines several key issues at the heart of the debate over the multilateral trading system. What are the global efficiency gains from further liberalization? How can efficiency gains be maximized while respecting legitimate claims to sovereignty? Is the trading system affording an equitable distribution of benefits between countries and among various groups within societies? Does civil society have a role in the trading system? What role should the World Trade Organization and its dispute settlement procedures play in resolving disputes and enhancing legitimacy?

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2011 in the subject Economics - International Economic Relations, Aligarh Muslim University (Department of Economics), language: English, abstract: The fundamental principles of the multilateral trading system is to help trade flow as freely as possible, on the one hand, and deal with disputes over trade issues on the other. The expansion of trade has played a dynamic role in the growth of the global economy since World War II. Trade is important for the development of all types of economies. But its sustained growth calls for a free and fair Multilateral trading system. A trading system that is rule based helps in the expansion of trade. Similarly, a trading system that lowers trade barriers through negotiations and applies the principle of non-discrimination promotes trade from developing countries. Further, the trading system that allows disputes to be settled effectively and constructively has the added advantage for the developing countries. The world trading system under the WTO promises all but its working over the past years since its establishment has revealed that the pace and pattern of implementation by different member countries have not been uniform. More powerful players in the trade space have evolved many new instruments of safeguarding their national interest while the weaker players have been forced to implement their commitments. This has generated asymmetries in the pattern of effective market access in the different countries of the world economy. In the light of the above, our objective in this study is primarily to examine the role of Multilateral trading system under the WTO in promoting international trade of developing countries in general and that of India in particular. The purpose of this paper is (a) to discuss the importance of trade and trading system for developing countries in general and India in particular (b) to discuss the asymmetries exist under the WTO which effect the development

Developing countries, including as small states and least developed countries (LDCs), continue to face significant challenges within the global trading system. Action is required to allow them to overcome disadvantages and achieve sustainable levels of income from trade. This study provides a fresh perspective on how measures can be taken to enhance the participation of small states, many of which are Commonwealth countries, in the multilateral trading system. It contributes to the ongoing general debate about reforming the World Trade Organization and global trade governance.

This Book charts the evolution of the multilateral trading system over the last half-century and explores the future outlook for the intergovernmental body that constitutes its institutional base and which is responsible for governing the conduct of global commerce, the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The author, a leading authority on international trade, identifies the distinct trends that have characterised the historical progression of the system, from the formulation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947 through the WTO's inception in 1995 to the present day. He examines how the GATT/WTO framework has traditionally been used by the major industrial nations as a vehicle to pursue their narrow economic and political interests, at the expense of Third World countries' development prospects. This North-South imbalance continues to pervade the multilateral trade regime today, in the form of inherent inequities in the WTO agreements and their implementation, and attempts to insert potentially damaging new issues into the WTO agenda. Further, this book traces the intimate links between these substantive deficiencies and the WTO's murky decision-making processes, which are dominated by its developed-country members to the detriment of the developing countries.

Tracing the history and evolution of the Uruguay Round, this book seeks to explain how it came about, why it covered the subjects it did, what the participants sought, & the twists, turns, setbacks & successes in each sector of the negotiations.