THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE EMERGING SYSTEM OF GOVERNANCE IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE

SUMMARY The establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO), resulting from the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations, is a major step towards the consolidation of a rule?based multilateral trading system, where agreed disciplines are backed by a strengthened dispute settlement mechanism. The WTO, however, is not a specialized agency of the United Nations, and the question has therefore been asked as to what is now the role of the UN in international trade. This article argues that the UN has a major part to play in the emerging system of governance in international trade. The role involves providing a universal forum to discuss international trade policy; contributing to the definition of the ‘frontiers’ of the WTO regime; preparing the ground for future trade negotiations; introducing a development perspective in international trade policy; and providing technical assistance to developing countries and economies in transition to better integrated in the international trading system.