1 The importance of international law and institutions for the world trading system 5
Introduction 5
The institutional structure of the GATT/WTO system 7
The role of international trade institutions 8
2 Developing countries in the GATT committee system prior to the establishment of the WTO 11
Introduction 11
The GATT committees on antidumping practice 11
GATT textiles and clothing committees 20
The Multifibre Arrangement and the TSB 22
GATT agricultural committee 24
Concluding comments 27
3 The impact of developments after the Tokyo Round 28
The change in DC attitudes towards the GATT 28
The reconfiguration of intra–DC relations within the GATT 31
Recent developments and their implications for DC participation in the WTO committees 33
4 Developing countries and the WTO committees since the Uraguay Round 35
The 1995 WTO committee on Antidumping Practices 35
The Textiles Monitoring body 38
The WTO Committee on Agriculture 40
The Committee on Trade and Environment 46
5 Conclusions 55
General overview of the study 55
Recommendations 56
Appendix: Extracts from GATT/WTO documents 60
Notes 70
Bibliography 96
Index 111
Kofi Oteng Kufuor is a Research Fellow in the School of Law at The University of East London and an Associate Fellow of the Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House).
The first scholarly attempt at a comprehensive analysis of a crucial area of international trade law and institutions, this volume provides critical insights into the role played by developing countries in the GATT/WTO committees. It explores how the developing countries have shaped and been shaped by the committees on anti–dumping, textiles, agriculture, and trade and environment, and suggests how these countries can further improve their participation. In doing so, the book challenges established assumptions about how the developing countries have engaged with the developed countries and with one another under the umbrella of the multilateral trading system.