MERCOSUR is one of the most important examples of renewed world-wide interest in regional trade agreements. It may be seen as a consolidation of unilateral reforms undertaken in conjunction with major macroeconomic adjustments. The paper reviews the objectives of MERCOSUR and assesses its...

The WTO has increased international disciplines on export policy, but there is still scope for the use of export subsidies and other measures to promote exports. Under macroeconomic and trade reforms of the last decade, many countries have reduced or eliminated import measures which operate as...

Transition economies are going through a process of changing the role of the state, allowing a greater role for the private sector. This is consistent with the market-oriented approach of the WTO. Remaining state agencies and enterprises will need to adapt their ways of doing business, including...

Market access negotiations in merchandise trade at the multilateral level cover tariffs and non-tariff measures (NTMs). While tariffs have been substantially reduced in earlier rounds, they remain high in certain areas and further reductions involve a number of complex technical issues. Some...

The EU's import policies towards developing countries are complex, stemming from important sectoral and country variations in policy. Average tariffs are modest, and, while there are tariff peaks and escalation in some areas of interest to developing countries, these are being reduced as a...

In the last ten years, there has been a sea change in trade and related policies in emerging markets. This results from autonomous reforms undertaken in conjunction with macro-economic stabilization programmes. Many non-tariff measures have been eliminated and tariffs, now the principal trade...

The EU model is being progressively transmitted to other economies through expansion of membership and various preferential agreements. Since EU trade polices have been criticised in a number of respects, this could be a matter of concern to the international community. However, in the case of...

Overall, protection in goods and services now appears modest in developed and developing countries, but there are a number of products where protection remains high and liberalization could bring important benefits to developing countries. In absolute terms the greatest gains for developing...

The rapid growth in the number of regional trade agreements (RTAs) has led to concern about the weakening of the multilateral trading system. This paper looks at the spread of such agreements and the extent which they pose a threat to the system.