Preface

This volume of GAO's study of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade's (GATT) 1994 Uruguay Round (UR) agreement is a reference document assessing the major issues associated with the agreement. Our assessment (1) discusses the original trading problems that led to the Uruguay Round negotiations; (2) identifies the U.S.' specific negotiating objectives; (3) presents the results of negotiations as provisions of the final agreement; (4) analyzes the likely impact of the agreement, including whether it resolves the original trading problems; and (5) discusses issues that remain in contention and those that require further evaluation.

We report information on the Uruguay Round's efforts to liberalize trade
and investment worldwide, the creation of the World Trade Organization
(WTO), the potential impact of the agreement, and in appendix I future WTO
issues evolving from the UR. Specifically, we address six major areas of the
agreement:

⚫ the agreement's efforts to facilitate increased worldwide trade in goods through reduction in tariffs (ch. 2);

⚫ the agreement's creation of WTO and related revised dispute resolution procedures (ch. 3);

the agreement's revision of multilateral trade rules provisions: subsidies, antidumping, and safeguards (ch. 4);

⚫ the agreement's expansion of coverage to new areas: intellectual property, services, and trade-related investment (ch. 5);

⚫ the agreement's further expansion in areas already covered by GATT: agriculture, textiles and clothing, government procurement, and trade and the environment (ch. 6); and

other negotiations linked to the Uruguay Round: multilateral steel and aircraft subsidies negotiations (ch. 7).

Any questions concerning this study can be addressed to Allan I.
Mendelowitz, Managing Director, or JayEtta Z. Hecker, Director,
International Trade, Finance, and Competitiveness, who may be reached
on (202) 512-5889.

Charles A. Bousher

Charles A. Bowsher
Comptroller General
of the United States