T.R.A.D.E. Working Papers 2

INTRODUCTION

One of the major issues in multilateral trade negotiations and in the implementation of multilateral trade rules is the extent to which the rights and obligations of developing countries, on account of their lower levels of development, should differ from those of developed countries and how this should be achieved. The manner in which countries at different levels of development are treated in world trade has been a major, often controversial issue. Special and differential (S&D) treatment, which addresses the requirements and special needs of the weaker member states, is of fundamental importance for the developing countries.

Over the years, first in the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and currently in the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the liberalization commitments of developing countries have deepened and the multilateral trade agenda broadened, the issue of S&D treatment has grown in importance. For example, agreements have been concluded in a number of new areas critical for national development, including trade in services, the protection of intellectual property rights and agricultural trade, as a result of which developing countries have assumed important new commitments, as they have in other areas, such as market access, technical barriers to trade, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures.

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