The Role of the GATT and the Nature of GATT Negotiations

The opening up of trade during the last forty years has been mainly due to the efforts made in the GATT. There have been seven GATT trade liberalisation rounds in all, including the Dillon, Kennedy and Tokyo Rounds and most recently the Uruguay Round. While this process has been slow and its development rather patchy, the results have nonetheless been impressive. The Uruguay Round was a culmination of all these efforts. The step-by-step approach that has evolved through the GATT has led to the point where the rules and disciplines of the new World Trade Organisation, established by the Uruguay Round, are much more complete and cover nearly everything that is traded.