ABSTRACT
The removal of barriers to international trade was a powerful stimulus to economic growth in the period since World War II. As the scope of international competition increased, so did the potential for trade disputes. Policies formerly determined wholly by domestic factors now came under international scrutiny. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), based in Geneva, had been at the centre of these currents since its foundation in 1948. This chapter looks at the Uruguay Round as an example of the growing internationalisation of domestic economic policy. It concludes, however, that the successful completion of the Uruguay Round was an early example of the beneficial impact of globalisation. The tensions between domestic and external economic policy generated by the negotiations did much to explain why the Round took so long to complete. The GATT had to tighten its own rules; induce the reform of domestic regulation; and overcome the pressure of special interests.
