Lee A. Bygrave (red.) YULEX 2002 - Universitetet i Oslo

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44 Susan Schiavetta
imported into a country, or by imposing excessive tariff duties on goods
when they enter a country. Both examples indirectly curb market penetration,
and ultimately result in discrimination between domestic and foreign products.
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) came into being
in 1947, and outlined rules governing international trade. By regulating tariff
and non-tariff barriers placed on goods traded on an international scale, it
sought to produce a level playing field between its signatory states, thereby
stimulating free trade.
In due course, GATT formed a de facto organisation that was also, albeit
unofficially, branded as “GATT”. 1 This organisation administered GATT,
and contributed immensely to its growth. In response to economic and political
demands, several rounds of negotiations have taken place over the years
which have amended and extended the original international trading rules. In
particular, the Uruguay Round (Geneva 1986–1994) broadened the regime to
cover services and intellectual property, via the adoption of the General
Agreement for Trade in Services (GATS) and the Agreement on Trade Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS). 2 On the whole, these documents
provide the legal ground rules for international commerce which work
on a contractual basis. The governments of the countries involved are bound
by these rules and must therefore shape their trade policies within the
boundaries of these “contracts”. 3 One of the most important adjustments to
this trading system was the crystallisation of the de facto administrative body
into a distinct international organisation, the WTO.
2.1 The WTO
The WTO came into being in 1995 via the framework of GATT, and thereby
“[placed] the international trading system on a firm constitutional footing”. 4
The salient duty of the WTO is to act as a medium for trade negotiations. 5
Taking up this role, it acts in the same way as a lawyer advising clients as to
their contractual rights and obligations, adding further support when the
1 nd
See further WTO, Trading into the future (Geneva: WTO, 2001, 2 ed), p 4, available at
(accessed 08.10.2002).
2
Final Act Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round (Geneva: GATT, 1993) [KZ5185
1987 A3 1993]. The Final Act is like a covering note; all the other agreements are attached
to this. Principally, the Agreement establishing the WTO acts as an umbrella agreement to
GATT, GATS and TRIPS.
3
Supra n 1.
4 AH Qureshi, The World Trade Organisation: Implementing International Trade Norms
(Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1996), p 3.
5 Supra n 1.