The purpose of the global trade regime is to provide a rules-based political system that promotes and

stabilizes economic exchanges between countries. Generally, international rules reduce the protectionism
of national regulations, but even more, reduce the uncertainty and unpredictability of international trade
relations. The author, Silke Trommer, in this chapter shows how this global trade regime has been
established through the actions of trading countries over the past 150 years, and how it became
institutionalized in the WTO, and what kind of difficulties is facing now.

In the next part of my presentation I will briefly talk about the period of liberal exchange which lasted
about 40 years. First will be the campaign for free trade led by Richard Cobden in England, which is
called Reform Act of 1832. Cobden demonstrated the importance of a leadership in promoting the idea of
free trade. After this campaign, other European countries also liberalized their trade, but unlike Britain,
they did this through the negotiation of trade treaties. The Cobden-Chevalier treaty of 1860 between
Britain and France prompted other European powers to seek similar commercial treaties with France.
This period was dominated economically by Great Britain. Britain also led the world in industrial and
technological innovation and was the biggest exporter and importer at that time.

The depression that began in the 1870s led to the protectionism that lasted until after the Second World
War. The war in 1914 produced enormous economic dislocation. And also played an important role in the
European mentality, which ultimately was a cause for mercantilism and national protectionism against
imports. Except UK, who remained the only major nation practicing free trade. Despite of these facts,
during the interwar period, governments made efforts at the international level to negotiate international
agreements. But, unfortunately, these agreements failed due to lack of support from key powers.

The US had emerged from the First World War as the largest trading nation in the world. Therefore,
domestic events affecting US trade capabilities had a wide impact on relations in the international system.
This was the case with two events: the Smoot-Hawley tariff of 1930 and the Reciprocal Trade
Agreements Act of 1934. The first one was the peak of a trend towards protectionism and raised US
duties and increased the scope of tariff coverage. This situation became an issue in the presidential
election of 1932, and was attacked by Democratic candidate Franklin Roosevelt. So, following his
election, Roosevelt appointed Cordell Hull as secretary of state, a man who thinks that free trade was an
essential ingredient in world prosperity, international peace and stability. He and his officials began
working with Congress to prepare new tariff legislation. And this legislation was put into action under the
title of RTAA of 1930. This act transferred of the US tariff-setting policy from the Congress to the
presidency. Also, tariff rates were a bilateral matter to be settled through negotiation. By 1939, the US
concluded 21 agreements, all based on most-favored nation principle, which is non-discriminatory basis.
Thus, the author says, that this change created a more favorable economic conditions in the global trade
regime that happened after the Second World War.

In the early post-war period, in terms of security policy, the US took over the leadership of the
Western alliance. And the US leadership rested relatively easily with other Western nations because the
security concerns of the Cold War with the Soviet Union encouraged them to be more willing to follow
the US. However, for the Americans, trade liberalization was an attractive goal since the US was
positioned to benefit from freer trade. And global trade regime was affected by the American values,
which were multilateralism, non-discrimination. By contrast, this was problematic for Europeans since
they were in fear and uncertainty in terms of their economies after the war which ultimately led to the
formation of the European Union. As a result of different approaches taken by the US and its allies the
negotiation of rules based on general consensus and compromise. Led by the US and its allies attempted
to create a new structure of international system. An important part of this attempt was the Bretton Woods
Conference of 1944, which established the WB and IMF. Along with these efforts, the allies tried to
establish an international trade regime. But they failed to do that because of US Congress non ratification.
In place of the ITO, countries relied on the GATT, established in 1947. GATT was born out of the desire
to promote international economic cooperation and reduce trade barriers in the aftermath of World War
II. It aimed to prevent the protectionist policies that contributed to the Great Depression and the conflict
itself. There are 4 principles of GATT.
Most-Favored-Nation (MFN): GATT members agreed to treat each other equally.
Tariff Reduction: GATT focused on reducing tariffs (import taxes) and other trade barriers, promoting
the principle of trade liberalization.
Reciprocity: Countries agreed to negotiate tariff reductions bilaterally.
Transparency: GATT encouraged transparency in trade policies and required members to publish their
trade regulations.
GATT operated through rounds of negotiations, with each round focused on specific issues and
sectors. Notable rounds include the Kennedy Round (1964-1967), the Tokyo Round (1973-1979), and the
Uruguay Round (1986-1994). But among these round The Uruguay Round was included in my ppt since
it was the most comprehensive and significant negotiation under GATT. Also it led to the establishment
of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995. The Uruguay Round comprised a lengthy negotiating
agenda, including new issues such as trade in services and TRIPs. But the most difficult issue in the
Uruguay Round was trade in agriculture, particularly between the major parties, the EU, and the US.
Moreover, there was an opposition from developing countries as well. The reason for that was that they
Viewed TRIPs protection as a potential barrier to trade in its own right. But were encouraged to pursue a
free trade policy by the fall of communism and by the success of new free market countries such as
Singapore and Taiwan. Developing countries became fully integrated to the world trade regime thanks to
two negotiating principles: the Consensus Principle; the Single Undertaking Principle. Despite of these
issues, the Uruguay Round was an enormous accomplishment for the international trade system, because
as a result the WTO was established in 1995. And it expanded rules of the international system of trade
(for new issues such as services and old issues such as agriculture). Also created the international trade
system based on rules rather than power and established a dispute settlement system.

And also I want to add that although the GATT played a significant role in facilitating global trade, it
faced several challenges and problems during its existence, some of which contributed to the eventual
establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 to replace it. One of them is that the
GATT did not adequately address intellectual property rights (IPR) protection, which became
increasingly important as technology and innovation played a more significant role in international trade.
Geopolitical changes, such as the end of the Cold War and the increasing globalization of trade, called for
a more comprehensive and updated framework for international trade.

The last part of my ppt is dedicated to the WTO. To its structures and to the important round, which is
called The Doha Round. First of all, it has legal personality just like the IMF or the WB. Agreements of
the WTO are accepted as a single piece based on single undertaking concept. Established institutional
structure and decision-making procedures still based on consensus. And the most important feature of the
WTO compare to the GATT was that it has established a Dispute Settlement Understanding to give real
impact to the laws. In this mechanism countries are legally obliged to accept and implement a negative
dispute settlement decision, but it is usually impossible to oblige powerful countries to do so. So I can say
that this is the one of the disadvantages of the structure of the WTO. Another salient feature of the WTO
was the Doha Round. TRIPs/Health Issue was treated as a matter of importance and the WTO reached an
agreement. Extends the date until 2016 for least developed countries to provide patents on
pharmaceuticals. Ensured the success of the Doha Meeting. And the focus was on development. The
Doha Round remains a significant focus of WTO negotiations, but its lengthy duration and challenges
have raised questions about its viability and the need for innovative approaches to address global trade
issues.

In conclusion, the world trade regime started its evolution in the middle of the 20 th century. The focus
of the regime was on creating rules to facilitate exchanges between countries. And it moved from bilateral
to multilateral negotiations. Agreements through international negotiations based on consensus. Secondly,
the negotiation process is critically important to the success of the WTO, but its sometimes fragile
process and not always successful. It means no consensus = problem not solved. When a blockage occurs
in the WTO, there is always the fear that the organization will be collapsed. And the third one is the raise
of two opposed poles in trade system. Developed and developing countries, disagreeing with regards on
market access for agricultural goods and manufactures. Dispute regarding the equal benefit of the WTO
(developed/developing countries).

In summary, the World Trade Organization is a key player in the field of international political
economy. It shapes international trade relations, establishes rules, and provides mechanisms for dispute
resolution, all of which have significant implications for the global economy and the political dynamics
among its member states. The WTO's role in promoting trade liberalization and managing trade-related
conflicts is a central topic of interest and debate within the field of IPE.

Also I wanted to add something here, that as the Doha Round stumbled along, governments attempted
to find another alternative ways, especially through preferential trade agreements. For instance, under the
Trump administration, the US has abandoned its traditional leadership position in multilateral trade
governance. My point here is that as attractive as unilateral approaches appear here and now, they
ultimately damage the trading system, which comes at economic and political costs to all countries.