Introduction

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has been seen as one of the most important achievements of international economic cooperation in the post-war period. Membership of the WTO and of its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) has dramatically expanded over the years, and the organization now includes all of the larger countries with the exception of Russia, which is still negotiating its accession. The main attractions of the WTO are seen by their protagonists to be twofold — the WTO represents a platform for multilateral negotiations to improve access to markets for countries’ exports and to establish a set of legally binding trade rules and disciplines. The former expands the opportunities for countries’ exports and thus leads to improved conditions for economic growth. The latter provides for increased transparency and predictability of countries’ policy commitments — features that are of considerable importance for newcomers into world markets and for avoiding policy “backsliding.”