This volume provides an analytical approach to most of the major items on the agenda of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, which was convened in 1986 under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

The Uruguay Round negotiating agenda is ambitious in scope, consisting of such topics as barriers to trade, sectoral issues, and GATT rules, and a number of topics that had not been addressed in previous negotiations. The Multilateral Trading System begins with an introduction and overview of the issues, followed by two chapters that put the Uruguay Round in context and provide some historical perspective relating to previous GATT negotiations. The bulk of the volume consists of twelve analytical chapters that address many of the central issues, including tariffs and nontariff barriers; dumping; safeguards; agriculture; services; trade-related intellectual property rights; and trade-related investment measures. The concluding chapters deal with options for change, focusing on trade-offs, coalitions, and national interests and on suggestions for the design of a new constitution to govern the global trading system.

The Multilateral Trading System deals with issues of central importance in the global trading system. It will be of particular interest to specialists in international trade and staff economists in national and international agencies. Specialists and students in political science, law, and business administration will also find much that is useful.