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.

In the aftermath of the failed Third Ministerial Session of the WTO in Seattle, the WTO is trying to rebuild the agenda for a new round of multilateral trade negotiations. There are already mandated negotiations in agriculture and services (the so-called "built-in agenda") as well as mandated...

As it approached the end of the 20th Century the multilateral trading system appeared to be on a high point. The WTO was in operation for five years, 50 years after the GATT had provided a stop-gap measure for the ill-fated ITO. With the failure of Seattle, the WTO begins the 21st Century with...

Agricultural policies have important effects, positive and negative, on the poor, and the developing countries as a whole are expected to make important welfare gains from liberalization of agricultural trade and production. However, a quantitative assessment of the proposals in the current WTO...