Introduction
Tour Itinerary
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Lusaka Stn.
COMESA
A Case Study
WTO
Uruguay Round
Lome Conv.
Protectionism
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The Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiation

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The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was an international agreement started in 1948 with the intention of freeing up multilateral trade and providing a mechanism to settle international trade disputes. The 'rules' of international trade were worked out between member countries in a series of negotiation rounds. Zambia became a member of GATT in February 1982 and like all other members Zambia is bound by the rules governing non tariff barriers and tariff barriers outlined in the negotiation rounds of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

The last of the eight rounds of trade negotiations of GATT, known as the Uruguay round, lasted for almost eight years from 1986 to 1994. Despite nearly failing on a number of occasions, leading to the extension of the negotiations, it eventually led to the creation of the World Trade Organisation and a new set of agreements covering the trade of goods, services, intellectual property and a new dispute settlement mechanism.

It certainly marked a fundamental reform of the world trading system and has had a major impact on the economies of the LDCs. The reforms of the Uruguay round included a number of measures:

• tariff reductions on industrial products averaging 38% and eliminated entirely on some products.
• tariff reduction on agricultural goods averaging 36% over 6 years in industrialised countries and 10 years in Less Developed Countries
• non tariff barriers such as the Multi-fibre Agreement were to be phased out over 10 years.
• non-tariff barriers were converted to tariff barriers
• protection of intellectual property rights eg copyright and patents to be strengthened
• adoption of voluntary codes limiting anti-dumping measures
• Voluntary Export Restraints were to be abolished within four years
• the newly created WTO had stronger powers to settle disputes and to enforce its rules

Despite these substantial changes world trade is still heavily protected. Some economists argue that reducing trade barriers will be anti-developmental as there are significant benefits to be achieved from some form of protection.

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Related Glossary Items:
Multi-Fibre Agreement
GATT
WTO
Protectionism
Voluntary Export Restraints

Related Issues:
The World Trade Organisation
Protectionist Policies of Zambia

Related Theories:
Protection:
The Imposition of Quotas
The Imposition of Tariffs and Welfare Loss