Implementation and imbalance: dealing with hangover from the Uruguay Round

Abstract

The Uruguay Round agreements impose bound obligations to implement, but provide only unbound promises of assistance—is there a legal solution within the WTO legal system, i.e. can implementation assistance be made a legal obligation? The author concludes that the Doha negotiations on trade facilitation and on aid for trade demonstrate that such a legal arrangement cannot be constructed. This is not, however, a problem; the international community has provided extensive trade-related assistance through bilateral and multilateral development agencies. Regarding the overall Uruguay Round imbalance (developing countries gave more than they got), failure of the international community to acknowledge that the imbalance stems in major part from the WTO agreement on intellectual property (TRIPS) has retarded a general making-up.