Jeffrey J. Schott Livres

The Uruguay Round was the largest and most important set of multilateral trade negotiations ever undertaken. It will have far-reaching implications for world growth and the evolution of the global trading system into the next century. This is a concise but comprehensive analysis of the key provisions and economic implications of the Final Act of the Uruguay Round. Schott develops a scorecard and grades the results of the negotiations. The sectors and functional areas assessed include agriculture, antidumping, services, investment, intellectual property, textiles and apparel, subsidies, the new dispute settlement mechanism, and other institutional reforms. Schott's previous book (with Gary Hufbauer), An Assessment , was the definitive analysis of that agreement and played an important role in the US ratification debate. The Uruguay An Assessment will be an indispensable reference for policymakers, business people, and others interested in a balanced evaluation of the results of its eight years of negotiations. It will also be invaluable for teachers seeking to introduce students to the structure and operations of the global trading system.

This new edition contains a detailed assessment of the NAFTA agreement as actually negotiated. It aims to inform public debate in all three countries about the impact of NAFTA and whether it should be ratified.

Abstract: "This paper assesses the future of the world trading system in the face of diminishing returns from current multilateral trade negotiations and the proliferation of bilateral and regional trade agreements (RTAs). It traces the evolution of the postwar trading regime from the early decades of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that were dominated by the United States and the European Communities to the new World Trade Organization (WTO) in which developing countries have begun to play a more important role, especially in the current Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations (MTNs). The paper discusses the substantive and tactical reasons why the Doha Round has progressed so grudgingly and is unlikely to achieve its ambitious objectives. It then examines why developing countries increasingly have turned to RTAs to complement WTO talks, whether these pacts benefit or hinder MTNs, and how RTAs affect the influence of developing countries in the WTO. The final section