Tokyo Round
Summary of Tokyo Round
The seventh, and latest, round of multilateral trade negotiations sponsored by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (read about the GATT for further details). Running from 1973 to 1979, the Tokyo Round resulted in a series of international agreements on significant tariff rate reductions, and also agreements on nontariff measures, such as subsidies, valuation, and technical barriers. Specifically, the Tokyo Round produced a series of annual tariff reductions, running from January 1, 1980, through January 1, 1987, resulting in a 34 percent reduction in customs collections; the weighted average tariff on manufactured products in the world’s nine largest industrial markets will decline from 7.0 to 4.7 percent ad valorem. It eliminated export subsidies on nonprimary products and primary mineral products and established standards for countervailing measures. It prohibited the use of technical standards as a barrier to trade.
The Tokyo Round made a commitment to limit import licensing and to apply licensing so as not to hamper trade unnecessarily. It produced a liberal-ization of most government procurement practices to permit foreign firms to bid on projects valued at more than 150,000 Special Drawing Rights (read this and related legal terms for further details). It established a uniform system of valuation for customs purposes and revised the Antidumping Code negotiated during the earlier Kennedy Round. It also eliminated all duties on civil aircraft, parts, and repairs.
The Tokyo Round firmly established the principle of nonreciprocal trade concessions to developing nations.
(Main Author: William J. Miller)
Tokyo Round and the GATT Policy Negotiations
In relation to the GATT Policy Negotiations, Christopher Mark (1993) provided the following explanation and/or definition of Tokyo Round: The seventh GATT Round of multilateral trade negotiations, held from September 1973 to April 1979 with 99 countries participating. The Tokyo Round achieved substantial tariff cuts covering $300 billion of trade, and reduced the industrial countries’ average tariff on manufactured goods from 7 percent to 4.7 percent. For the first time, the Round also focused on nontariff measures,and a series of agreements regulating their use, called GAIT Codes, were negotiated. In addition, theFramework Agreement reforming certain aspects of the GATT system was adopted. Through the various codes and agreements, the Tokyo Round completed a major overhaul of the global trading system; however, the Round did not settle controversial issues of international trade policy so much as it provided ground rules and a mechanism for resolving such issues. The Round derived its name from the site of the ministerial meeting at which it was launched, but negotiations took place in Geneva.
Hierarchical Display of Tokyo Round
Trade > Tariff policy > Tariff policy > Tariff negotiations
Tokyo Round
Concept of Tokyo Round
See the dictionary definition of Tokyo Round.
Characteristics of Tokyo Round
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Resources
Translation of Tokyo Round
- Spanish: Ronda Tokio
- French: Négociation de Tokyo
- German: Tokio-Runde
- Italian: Negoziato di Tokyo
- Portuguese: Tokyo Round
- Polish: Runda Tokijska
Thesaurus of Tokyo Round
Trade > Tariff policy > Tariff policy > Tariff negotiations > Tokyo Round
See also
- Town-planning law
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