Negotiations to reduce trade barriers were completed in the post-World War II period

The Uruguay Round (1986—1994) was the last one in the history of GATT with the agenda:

• eliminating trade barriers and domestic subsidies in agriculture

• removing barriers to trade in services (which now account for 20 percent of international trade)

• ending restrictions on foreign economic investments, and

• establishing and enforcing patent, copyright, and trademark rights on an international basis

The World Trade Organization (WTO), a successor of GATT, began to function from January

1, 1995.

Crucial development in trade liberalization has taken the form of economic integration — the

Joining of the markets of two or more nations into a free-trade zone. The illustrations of economic

Integration were the European Economic Community (EEC), the EU, and the US-Canadian-

Mexican Free-Trade Agreement. There are about 60 communities now.

B) The European Economic Community

The most dramatic example of economic integration is the European Economic Community

(EEC), or the Common Market, as it is popularly known. Begun in 1958, the EEC now comprises

Most of Western European nations and some Eastern European nations.

Goals. The Common Market calls for:

• the gradual abolition of tariffs and import quotas on all products traded among the participating