Globalization, trade reform and the developing countries

Since the first round of trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) after World War II, multilateral trade liberalisation has progressed at a fairly steady pace, mostly among the developed countries. But the Millennium Round of trade negotiations, if it proceeds, will look somewhat different. Of the 134 members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in February 1999, some 70 percent are developing countries. This growing developing-country involvement in the WTO, as well as in regional trading blocs and other trade arrangements, represents a distinct break..