Developing Countries In The World Trading System

Experience suggests that trade liberalization has contributed substantially to the remarkable growth of industrialized countries. However, for various reasons many developing countries have not yet been able to integrate successfully into global markets and reap the growth-inducing and poverty-reducing benefits of trade. This book argues that while developing countries are heavily represented in the WTO - accounting for about four-fifths of its membership - there is still plenty of scope for the world trading system to work more effectively in their interests.

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.

Since the first edition of The World Trading System was published in 1989, the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations has been completed, and most governments have ratified and are in the process of implementing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). In the Uruguay Round, more than 120 nations negotiated for over eight years, to produce a document of some 26,000 pages. This new edition of The World Trading System takes account of these and other developments. Like the first edition, however, its treatment of topical issues is grounded in the fundamental legal, constitutional, institutional, and political realities that mold trade policy. Thus the book continues to serve as an introduction to the study of trade law and policy. Two basic premises of The World Trading System are that economic concerns are central to foreign affairs, and that national economies are growing more interdependent. The author presents the economic principles of international trade policy and then examines how they operate under real- world constraints. In particular, he examines the extremely elaborate system of rules that governs international economic relations. Until now, the bulk of international trade policy has addressed trade in goods; issues inadequately addressed by policy include trade in services, intellectual property rights, certain investment measures, and agriculture. The author highlights the tension between legal rules, designed to create predictability and stability, and the governments need to make exceptions to solve short-term problems. He also looks at weaknesses of international trade policy, especially as it applies to developing countries and economies in transition. He concludes with a look at issues that will shape international trade policy well into the twenty-first century.

New to this edition.

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.

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 process of developing countries adversely, and (c) to suggest ways and means as to how India and other developing countries can maximize the gain and minimize the losses from its membership of the world trade organization under the globalize era. Keywords: Trading System, WTO, Developing Countries, Indian Economy.

Country studies from the Ford Foundation Project on Developing Countries and the Global Trading System.