ABSTRACT
This chapter traces, in three parts, the main forces underlying and driving changes in the GATT-based global trade system from the late 1960s through the mid-1990s, with emphasis on the period 1975-1995. In particular, the first section maps out how key member states and the system more generally diverged markedly from established rules and procedures beginning in the mid-1970s. Despite the successful launch of the Tokyo Round in 1973, longterm observers and analysts of the system have noted that “new protectionism” emerged in various forms throughout the period of the Tokyo Round and into the 1980s. Next, the second section assesses how and why the Tokyo Round was completed in 1979 in the midst of a tumultuous era in international politics and economics. The main thrust of the chapter, the third section, explains the principal failures and successes of the extended Uruguay Round from the US attempt to launch it in 1982 through its completion in 1993-1994. A concluding section briefly analyzes the several failed and successful attempts at developing the trade system during this period in the context of structural and entrepreneurial leadership.
