ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at developments since the end of 1995 on matters relating to international trade and investment from the perspective of developing countries. Two notable achievements in the service sectors were the conclusion of a telecommunications agreement and the launching of free trade in computer products. Interest in preferential trading arrangements under which discriminatory trade barriers, based on complex rules of origin that are themselves endogenous responses to protectionist interests, has continued, even after the conclusion of the Uruguay Round. While awaiting the World Trade Organization (WTO) committee's report, the developing countries would do well to pause before rushing into any regional preferential trading arrangements. Any disputes relating to the observance of the conditions would be resolved using the dispute settlement (DS) mechanism of the WTO. A reconsideration of the antidumping measure code and its relation to WTO's DS system is urgent.
