Strategies in GATT and WTO Negotiations

Based on insiders' accounts, the book provides a comprehensive discussion of the strategies used by some developing countries in countering asymmetric power dynamics at the negotiating table and securing their objectives in a few exceptional episodes in World Trade Organiztion (WTO) negotiations, including food security and agriculture issues. Over the past seven decades, the outcome of international trade negotiations at the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) have significantly influenced economic policymaking world over. With unparalleled access to first-hand accounts of key negotiators from India and other developing countries,Strategies in GATT and WTO Negotiations systematically identifies and analyses the strategies and tactics deployed by the main players at the GATT/WTO negotiating table, particularly from the perspective of developing countries. It decodes the role that strategy plays in the developed countries prevailing in WTO negotiations on most occasions and demystifies the factors and strategies underlying the rare successes of many developing countries in countering entrenched power dynamics at the GATT and WTO negotiating table. Moreover, it includes a fascinating analysis of action behind the scenes and the strategies deployed by many developing countries in securing their key negotiating objectives on three specific issues in the Doha Round of the WTO, namely, the Singapore issues, agriculture, and food security.