Tariff Negotiations and Renegotiations under the GATT and the WTO Procedures and Practices

"Several articles of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) have a bearing on the process of tariff negotiations and renegotiations.An analysis of all these articles and the ways in which the provisions impinge on the commitments made during tariff negotiations and renegotiations is outside the scope of this work.We take up only those articles which have a direct bearing on the subject of our study. A.Provisions relating to tariff negotiations Periodic tariff negotiations Article 17 of the Havana Charter provided,inter alia,as follows: 'Each Member shall,upon the request of any other Member,or Members,and subject to procedural arrangements established by Organization,enter into and carry out with such other Member or Members,negotiations directed to the substantial reduction of the general levels of tariffs and other charges on imports and exports,and to the elimination of the preferences referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 16,on a reciprocal and mutually advantageous basis.' The desiderata contained in this provision provided the basis for the initial rounds of tariff negotiations held under GATT 1947.It was not until the review session of 1954-55 that the present Article XXVIII bis was introduced,entering into force on 7 October 1957.This article envisages that,from time to time,the Ministerial Conference may sponsor negotiations directed to the substantial reduction of the general level of tariffs and other charges on imports and exports,and in particular to the reduction of such high tariffs as discourage the importation even of minimum quantities"--