An Introduction to the WTO Agreements

The World Trade Organization (WTO), the successor to GATT, is rapidly establishing itself as the third pillar of the Bretton Woods institutions alongside the World Bank and the IMF.  The prolonged international negotiations which led to its establishment have produced a complex set of agreements which not only constitute the most profound revision of the rules governing world trade, but extend these rules into a range of issues and economic sectors not hitherto regarded as falling within its ambit. This book, by an author who was intimately involved in the Uruguay Round which led to the creation of the WTO, is an indispensable and concise explanation of what the WTO Agreements actually provide for. It deals with the full range of technical provisions and issues, explaining where necessary the background, terms involved, and implications of the new provisions.  The many subjects covered include the basic principles and main elements of GATT, the most favoured nation clause, tariffs, balance of payments provisions, subsidies and countervailing duties, anti-dumping, technical barriers to trade, rules of origin, import licensing, trade related investment measures (TRIMs), stage trading enterprises, intellectual property rights, services, and the dispute settlement process.  Together with its companion volume which critically examines the, Agreements from the point of view of the developing countries, it provides public officials, NGO leaders and economists in general with an essential explanation of the new rules governing world trade.