ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the first four years of the Uruguay Round, which were dominated by conflict over the appropriate way to reform the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) rules, and more fundamentally the degree of discipline that should be exercised at the international level over domestic farm policies. The main GATT decision-making body was the GATT Council, made up of representatives from the governments of GATT members. In the case of agriculture, the lead is taken in practice by the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in conjunction with the office of the Secretary of Agriculture. Draft papers in the Uruguay Round originated with the FAS and were then discussed by a committee including other parts of USDA, as well as US Trade Representative, before being cleared by the Secretary. Agriculture was destined to play a central role in the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations from the start.
