Multilateral Trade Negotiations

Summary of Multilateral Trade Negotiations

Negotiations among many nations acting in concert for the purpose of reducing trade barriers. Since the inception of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (read about the GATT for further details). in 1947, the most significant multilateral negotiations have occurred under GATT auspices. The first five rounds of GATT- sponsored negotiations involved series of simultaneous bilateral negotiations with tariff reductions pursued on an item-by-item basis. With the Kennedy Round (1964-67) products were grouped for tariff reduction by the application of a single formula. The Tokyo Round (1973-79) employed a single reduction formula and addressed various nontariff barriers.

(Main Author: William J. Miller)

Multilateral Trade Negotiations and the GATT Policy Negotiations

In relation to the GATT Policy Negotiations, Christopher Mark (1993) provided the following explanation and/or definition of Multilateral Trade Negotiations: The 1974-79 Tokyo Round was referred to formally as the Multilateral Trade Negotiations (MTN). As a result, the various GATT Codesnegotiated during the Tokyo Round are sometimes referred to as “MTN Codes.”

Multilateral Trade Negotiations and International Trade

Resources

See Also

GATT Round