ABSTRACT
The World Trade Organization (WTO) sits at the pinnacle of the contemporary multilateral trading system. 1 The WTO came into force in 1994 and began its oversight of the implementation of the Uruguay Round Agreements. 2 Six ministerial meetings have been held (Singapore 1996; Geneva 1998; Seattle 1999; Doha 2001; Cancun 2003; and Hong Kong 2005). There are stark differences between the WTO system, which seems to be premised on more aggressive and rapid multilateral liberalization of trade, and the previous more flexible GATT system, with its many allowances for multiple forms of Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) for developing countries. Increasingly, these differences are generating tensions between the trade agenda and the development agenda.
