ABSTRACT
Much attention in recent years has been centred on the multilateral trade negotiations which have been taking place under the title of the ‘Uruguay Round’. These negotiations commenced in 1986 with an inaugural meeting of trade ministers held at Punta del Este in Uruguay, which was why the negotiations were named after this country. In fact, none of the negotiations subsequently took place in Uruguay. The Round was completed in December 1993, three years later than the original date set for its conclusion. A document entitled the ‘Final Act’ containing all the various agreements concluded between the participating countries was signed with much fanfare at Marrakech in Morocco the following April. Most of the agreements, including the provisions for the creation of a new World Trade Organisation (WTO), came into effect on 1 January 1995, while being subject to an implementation period which is different for each agreement and for different groups of countries. The Round was the eighth and last round of multilateral trade negotiations held under the auspices of the GATT (the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade). This does not mean that there will be no future rounds. Negotiations to liberalise world trade will continue and they are likely to take the form of a ‘round’ although this will almost certainly differ in character from previous ones. However, the role of the GATT is now taken over by the newly created WTO. Unlike GATT, which was only ever a treaty with a provisional application, the WTO is an organisation which member states join and which has a permanent basis.
