Rise and Fall of Trade Multilateralism: A Proposal for “WTO à la Carte” as an Alternative Approach for Trade Negotiations

Abstract

Under the auspice of the GATT, the idea of “single undertaking” was introduced in the Uruguay Round to get rid of what is called “GATT à la carte” in the Tokyo Round and to strengthen the trading system. However, that approach, combined with other factors, in particular the consensus decision making rule, greatly increased the difficulties of decision making in the World Trade Organization (WTO). This article proposes a “WTO à la carte” approach for trade negotiations and discusses its implications for the future of trade multilateralism.

Keywords

multilateral trading system / single undertaking / consensus / WTO à la carte

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