The Interplay of Law and Economics in International Trade Regulation

Over the past decade or so, there have been many calls for a new international economic order. The most radical of these have come from the developing countries.

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While such calls are generally resisted by the established developed countries, even they are less than satisfied with the existing economic order which dates essentially from the immediate post Second World War period. Indeed, the Ministerial Declaration on the World Trading System in December 1982 could hardly have put it more plainly in stating:

The stresses on the system, which are reflected in the growing number and intensity of disputes between contracting parties … have made more pronounced certain shortcomings in its functioning. Existing strains have been aggravated by differences of perception regarding the balance of rights and obligations under the GATT, the way in which these rights and obligations have been implemented, and the extent to which the interests of different contracting parties have been met by the GATT. (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 1982)