Example Of History Essay - Globalization

Globalization

GATT
The General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was created in 1948 in the aftermath of the Second World War as a multilateral trading arrangement. GATT was born out of stillborn efforts to create an International Trading Organization under the auspices of the United Nations. GATT began with 23 nations, and member states continued to rise in numbers till 1994, when it had 123 members. GATT ultimately paved the way for the World Trade Conference (WTO) (Crowley).
Throughout its tenure, GATT emphasized upon the reduction in tariff barriers amongst member states and pursued the promotion of free and multilateral trade. GATT was successful in reducing multilateral tariffs progressively through the eight rounds it had, through the principles of ‘reciprocity, non-discrimination and transparency’ (Walker). However, non-tariff barriers and agriculture remained outside the purview of GATT till the Uruguay Round. GATT also had limited success in integrating the Lease Developed Countries (LDCs) till its Tokyo Round. GATT’s limitations chiefly arose from the fact that it did not cover intellectual property rights, did not have an organizational or institutional foundation. GATT agreements remained non-binding on member states, and were therefore unenforceable legally (Walker).

Difference Between GATT and WTO

The World Trade Organization (WTO), which came into existence in 1995 as a replacement of GATT, has a more formal structure as opposed to GATT. As a result, agreements framed under WTO are more enforceable than was possible in GATT. Disputes arising within the WTO are settled faster as there the dispute settlement system has a specified timeframe. Apart from trade in goods, WTO also monitors the aspect of intellectual property rights (Ministry of Industry and Trade, Yemen).

Works Cited

Crowley, Meredith. “An Introduction to the WTO and GATT.” Economic Perspectives 40 (2003): 42-57. Web. April 6, 2015.
Ministry of Industry and Trade, Yemen. “The Major Differences between the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) and WTO.” n.d. Web. April 6, 2015.
Walker, Jenny. “GATT: Success or Failure?” Honors Thesis, School of Economics, The University of Queensland. 1999. Web. April 6, 2015.