The Evolving Role of Trade Diplomacy in Multilateral Trade Negotiations: Experience of Agricultural Trade Liberalisation

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between the growing significance of trade diplomacy and the changes in the relative bargaining position of the major players, the US and the EU, in GATT multilateral trade negotiations. As the variables of the negotiation equation grew in complexity in the later GATT trade rounds, middle-power trade diplomacy became an important force in influencing negotiation outcomes. It is argued that middle-power trade diplomacy played a significant role in bringing agriculture into the GATT trade negotiation agenda and facilitating the successful completion of the Uruguay Round negotiations.