The World Trade Organisation (WTO) came into being as a result of the evolution of multilateral trading system starting from the establishment of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947. The protracted Uruguay Round negotiations spanning the period 1986-94, which resulted in the setting up of WTO, substantially extended the reach of rules and disciplines related to trade in goods, services as well as Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The Singapore Ministerial Conference saw the WTO members negotiating an Information Technology Agreement, while Doha Round aimed at working towards a global trade agreement to liberalize markets, boost agriculture, manufacturing and services, reduce poverty and promote development. Serious differences in the ambition levels of WTO members arose at the Cancun Ministerial Conference on the two most contentious issues, namely agriculture and the so-called Singapore issues. The book attempts to analyse the various provisions of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and examines its working in actual practice. It seeks to bring to light disagreements that persist on issues such as the size of tariff cuts and the special treatment that developing nations including India should receive. The most pressing issue is agriculture, in which developing nations want the rules–for both subsidies and protection–to be rebalanced in their favour. Another pressing issue is industrial tariffs, where greater market access is needed in both developing and developed countries. This revised edition analyses the rule-based, transparent and predictable multilateral trading system under the aegis of WTO, in the light of controversies that have arisen of late. It includes detailed Appendices on various Ministerial Declarations and Statements. A glossary of terms has been given for easy understanding of the text. Select bibliography has also been provided to facilitate further reading.
It will prove highly useful to the students and teachers of International Economics, researchers in this field, policymakers, business executives as well as the common readers interested in world economic affairs.
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