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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.
Looking to the future, the author asserts that
such one-sidedness cannot and must not persist
if the WTO is to foster a healthy stability
in international economic relations. Towards
this end, he advances concrete suggestions for
radical reform in the basic structure, rules
and practices of the trade body, and for complementary
actions on the part of other institutional,
governmental and non-governmental actors. The
analysis and proposals laid out in this book
are throughout grounded in a practical perspective
aimed at yielding the cooperation and mutual
gain among nations that are required to harvest
the full benefits of international trade.
About the Author
Bhagirath Lal Das was formerly India's Ambassador
and Permanent Representative to the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) forum.
He has also served as Director of International
Trade Programmes at the United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). At present
he is an advisor and consultant to several organisations.
Contents
Abbreviations
Preface
CHAPTER I: The Long Stride: From Havana to Doha
CHAPTER II: Main features of GATT/WTO
CHAPTER III: Implementation and Implications
CHAPTER IV: New Issues in the WTO
CHAPTER V: WTO Processes
CHAPTER VI: Towards the Future
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index
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