ABSTRACT
The original GATT contract underwent a substantial transformation
during the Uruguay round: WTO Members agreed to add to the ori-
ginal text of the GATT a series of Understandings adopted during the
Uruguay Round, as well as the so-called GATT acquis: the decisions
adopted by the GATT CONTRACTING PARTIES since 1947,
including protocols of tariff concessions, accessions and waivers still in
force.1 In what follows we discuss the meaning and substance of the
main legal disciplines of the GATT – the key Articles are summarized in Box 3.1. Space constraints preclude any in-depth discussion of the
underlying economic or policy issues. We will return to some of these
in Chapter 7, but in order to understand the substance of the GATT a
more ‘‘legal’’ treatment is required.2
