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...

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...

"Tariffs for industrial products are a key element of the ongoing WTO negotiations. However, rather than clarifying the issues, the framework text agreed on 1 August 2004 leaves considerable uncertainty about the future direction of the talks. According to one view, the negotiations are back at...