World trade round

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World trade rounds are a political element in the liberalization of international trade. They have been used since 1947 under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Although the duration of the negotiations increased and the progress of the negotiations decreased in the course of the trade rounds, progress towards the liberalization of international trade has been made with each new trade round. Thus, while the world trade rounds have proven to be slow but goal-oriented arrangements to reduce the various forms of trade barriers .

Development and trends

The first four world trade rounds resulted in substantial tariff cuts, averaging 35% each time. Since the sixth trade round, more and more topics have been included in the talks, such as anti- dumping and the protection of intellectual property . While tariff reductions were initially in the foreground, various additional agreements in the area of non-tariff trade barriers were included in the Tokyo Round .

The conduct of negotiations in the nine rounds so far is characterized by two trends in particular:

  • The importance of customs duties in negotiations has continuously decreased. This is due on the one hand to the now low level of tariffs and on the other hand to the increasing importance of other trade barriers. The increasing importance of the service sector brought a focus on this area. In addition, the signatory states recognized that the GATT was reducing their political leeway with regard to tariffs and tried to compensate for their loss of power there, in particular through non-tariff trade barriers.
  • Another trend was the transition from bilateral negotiations to multilateral agreements. The first rounds of negotiations were purely bilateral. With the increasing complicity of the agreements and the increasing number of members, conducting bilateral negotiations proved to be more and more difficult. With the Kennedy Round one went over to flat, linear tariff reductions. The establishment of the WTO finally put the emphasis on multilateral negotiations. Nevertheless, bilateral talks (especially between the big trading blocs, the USA and the EU ) remain an important element of the negotiation.

overview

No. round Duration Attendees Additional trading volume main results
1. GATT graduation in Geneva 1947 23 $ 10 billion
  • average tariff reductions of 35 percent
2. Annecy round 1949 13 not available
  • average tariff cuts of two percent
3. Torquay round 1950-1951 38 not available
  • average tariff cuts of three percent
4th Geneva round 1955-1956 26th $ 2.5 billion
  • average tariff cuts of two to three percent
5. Dillon round 1960-1961 26th $ 4.9 billion
  • average tariff cuts of seven percent
  • the European countries are represented for the first time in the negotiations by a common representative
6th Kennedy Round 1964-1967 62 $ 40 billion
  • linear tariff reductions (with exceptions), about a third on average for industrial goods
  • Multilateralization of the negotiations
  • Anti-dumping measures
  • Attempt to favor developing countries
7th Tokyo round 1973-1979 99 $ 155 billion
  • Tariff cuts on industrial goods by an average of 34 percent
  • Tariff cuts on agricultural goods by 32–40 percent
  • Codes to dismantle non-tariff trade barriers
8th. Uruguay Round 1986-1994 125 $ 755 billion
  • Creation of the WTO (Marrakesh Conference)
  • Agreement on TRIPS
  • Agreement on GATS
  • Opening of the agricultural markets (hardly implemented)
9. Doha round 2001-2016 160
  • In 2003 the Bali Package was adopted
  • meanwhile the round is considered to have failed

Individual evidence

  1. Held, S. (2006). The liability of the EC for violations of WTO law (Vol. 4). Mohr Siebeck. P. 20.
  2. Kutschker, M., & Schmid, S. (2010). International management. Oldenbourg Publishing House. P. 47.
  3. Engelberger, L. (2004). The direct applicability of WTO law in Switzerland: Basics and perspectives in the context of international legal developments (Vol. 7). Peter Lang. P. 41/42.
  4. ^ Miles, D., Scott, A., & Breedon, F. (2014). Macroeconomics: understanding global economic contexts. John Wiley & Sons. P. 249.
  5. ^ Pfahl, S. (2013). International trade and environmental protection: Conflicts of objectives and starting points for balancing interests. Springer publishing house. P. 81.
  6. Felbermayr, G., Kohler, W., Treier, V., Dieter, H., Herrmann, C., Beverelli, C., ... & Stoll, PT (2014). Bali Agreement: Who Wins and Who Pays the Costs. Ifo Schnelldienst , 67 (03), 3–34. P. 10.

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