The World Trade Organization : A New Constitution for the Trading System

The establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 was a historic achievement. It provided a means for implementing the Uruguay Round agreements, while providing for continuity with the previous GATT system, and also formally established, for the first time in history, an international organization for world trade. Written by one of the negotiators of the charter establishing the WTO, this article explores the reasons why the Uruguay Round participants decided late in the negotiations to create an international organization responsible for trade and correct the major defect of history - the failure to establish the International Trade Organization in 1948. It examines the history of the negotiations leading to the creation of the WTO as an organization, and critically reviews the experience with its decision-making rules and procedures in its first five years. While the WTO Agreement has eliminated some of the constitutional "defects" of the previous GATT system, it may also unfortunately have also created certain new rigidities in decision-making procedures that may make amending the rules in future cumbersome and difficult