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.

The linkages between trade and resource mobilization are complex and not well defined in theory. To what extent does trade policy affect resource mobilization and what are the mechanisms? A critical issue in this respect is that trade policy affects the current account imbalance without...

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...

Various proposals in the WTO non-agricultural market access negotiations are explained and analysed using a global general equilibrium model. The results show that proposals involving deeper tariff cuts imply greater increases in imports and exports, but greater losses in tariff revenues that...