Book Review: The GATT Uruguay Round: A Negotiating History (1986–1992)
| DOI | 10.1177/1023263X9400100310 |
| Published date | 01 September 1994 |
| Author | Peter Van den Bossche |
| Date | 01 September 1994 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Book Reviews
Terence Stewart (ed.), The GATT Uruguay Round: A Negotiating History
(1986-1992), Kluwer Law and Taxation Publishers, 1993,3894 pages, three
volumes, hardback Dfl. 860.
On 15 April 1994 the participants of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade
Negotiations agreed in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh that the Agreement Establishing
the World Trade Organization, and the many agreements annexed thereto, should enter
into force by 1 January 1995, or as early as possible thereafter. At present it is still
uncertain whether the World Trade Organization (hereinafter WTO) will be operational
by 1 January. 1While many of the ministers gathered in Marrakesh underlined the
urgency
of
ratifying the Uruguay Round agreements, by September 1994 only 26 out
of the 125 participants to the Uruguay Round had in fact done so. For the WTO to start
functioning, and the many trade agreements resulting from the Uruguay Round to enter
into force, an Implementation Conference needs to agree on some final details. This
Conference has been tentatively set for 6-15 December 1994 but it cannot be convened
as long as a substantial number of countries - including the major trading nations - have
not ratified the Uruguay Round results. In the United States as well as the European
Community the ratification process has been slowed down considerably as a result of -
in the case of the United States - serious opposition in Congress to the substance of the
Uruguay Round results, and - in the case
of
the European Community - disagreement
on the division of powers between the Community and the Member States. The
European Court of Justice is expected to render an Article 228 (6) EC Opinion on the
latter disagreement on 15 November 1994, after which the cumbersome ratification
procedure can continue on its course. In the United States both the Senate and the
House
of
Representatives have postponed the vote on the ratification until after the
November elections. Most other countries are waiting for the United States and the
European Community to ratify.
1. Information included in this footnote is based on data available at thedate of going to press.
326 MJ 1 (1994)
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