ABSTRACT
The principal change in the global role of tariffs since the early 1970s is that there have been no major reductions to stimulate trade. Those negotiated in the Tokyo Round of GATT trade negotiations (it ended in 1979, and the staged cuts were made in the early 1980s) were from an average of about 7% to under 5%. There was little difference in the size of industrial countries’ cuts, but Japanese levels were slightly below average, falling from 5.5 to 2.3%. There were no general cuts during the Uruguay Round (from 1986 to 1993); countries would not agree an interim implementation of cuts already agreed by 1988. Table 2.1 summarises the tariffs of the major industrial areas. Differences between the Most Favoured Nation averages and the tariffs applied indicate the effects of special arrangements between each of the countries and various free or preferential trade areas.
