This paper discusses reviews major issues and developments in the trade area and outlines the problems in the multilateral trading system that governments face as they seek to liberalize trade in the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations. The paper’s emphasis is on policy developments in the major trading nations as they relate to trade in both industrial and agricultural products. The survey also includes a review of trade policies in developing countries and refers to available quantitative evidence on protectionism wherever possible. The increased use of nontariff measures reflects, in part, the fact that most industrial countries have “bound” a considerable proportion of their tariffs, particularly on industrial products, at relatively low levels. Restrictions are particularly widespread in industries suffering from excess capacity (such as steel) and where comparative advantage has generally shifted to developing countries. The lack of major liberalization in agriculture in the US–Canada Free Trade Agreement has led some industrial countries to suggest that the US interest in multilateral negotiations is now primarily in agriculture and in some selected new areas, such as telecommunications, banking, and patent protection.

This paper contains further work by the Fund staff on trade issues and developments following the pattern of the surveys prepared in 1978 and 1981, mainly focusing on commercial policies of the major trading nations. It also includes a discussion of agricultural protection and issues relating to international trade in agricultural products.

This paper discusses the salient features of recent developments and outlines the prospects for trade policy by highlighting the main issues that will determine the scope and timing of liberalization under a possible new General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) round of multilateral trade negotiations. As the more advanced developing countries acquire the skills and investments to diversify exports toward more sophisticated manufactured products, restrictions against them tend to multiply. These not only impede the export prospects of the developing countries directly affected, but also slow specialization and diversification, thus severely affecting the smaller developing country exporters. Across-the-board protectionist measures have been avoided in the industrial countries because it is widely acknowledged that trade restrictions and protectionism are inappropriate responses to exchange rate developments. Exchange rate movements reflect financial flows as well as trade flows, and the importance of exchange rates that correspond to underlying economic fundamentals is unquestioned.

This paper analyzes the achievements of the Uruguay Round, and issues with the post-Uruguay Round agenda. The paper highlights that the conclusion of the Uruguay Round is a major achievement in international trade relations and a crucial element in promoting world trade and growth in the medium term. It arrested the deterioration in the trading environment and created a strengthened framework for future trade relations, thereby boosting business and investment confidence. It also provides positive outcomes in several areas, including market liberalization and strengthening of rules and institutional structures.

This study examines issues of trade and policy in developing Asian economies such as Sri Lanka, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

Economic development is the most important agenda in the international trading system today, as demonstrated by the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) adopted in the current multilateral trade negotiations of the World Trade Organization (the Doha Round). This book provides a relevant discussion of major international trade law issues from the perspective of development in the following areas: general issues on international trade law and economic development; and specific law and development issues in World Trade Organization, Free Trade Agreement and regional initiatives. This book offers an unparalleled breadth of coverage on the topic and diversity of authorship, as seventeen leading scholars contribute chapters from nine major developed and developing countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, China (including Hong Kong), South Korea, Australia, Singapore and Israel.