ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the main political events that marked the fierce contest that was waged about the configuration of global economic governance during the course of the whole of the 1970s. It focuses on the conflicting positions of the two overarching groups of developed and underdeveloped countries, although they shall frequently need to highlight the factional nature of these alliances. The first drew on the preparatory work done by the G24 on the exclusion of the developing countries in the G10 deliberations leading up to and immediately following the 1971 dollar crisis. The second theme focused on trade and the deficiencies of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), particularly the maintenance of tariff and non-tariff barriers to commodities, manufactures and semi-manufactures. The politics of the conference was that the developed countries were waging what was considered a holding operation against the South and settle for a minor revision of the present order.
