Published in 1997, in this book an attempt has been made to analyze the legal structure of GATT and the WTO as well as those agreements which control trade in textiles. One of the GATT’s major failures was its inability to come into line with the new economic reality and the needs of those states who created this system for controlling international trade. Trade in textiles was an excellent example of this. Now, the WTO aims to overcome this problem thanks to its greater pragmatism and its search for solutions to free trade difficulties. The WTO is not, however, the perfect solution. Its highly political character allows room for improvement even though the key to its success still lies with the effective cooperation of member states. As for the textile sector, this new panorama for trade in goods provides it with a new opportunity to finally return to the general legal framework in the year 2005.

The editors have succeeded in bringing together an excellent mix of leading scholars and practitioners. No book on the WTO has had this wide a scope before or covered the legal framework, economic and political issues, current and would-be countries and a outlook to the future like these three volumes do. 3000 pages, 80 chapters in 3 volumes cover a very interdiscplinary field that touches upon law, economics and politics.

Since its foundation in 1995, the World Trade Organization, with its extensive legal provisions, has been defining the world trade relations and also had an enormous impact on both European and national economic law. At the same time, the WTO is perceived within the political discussion as a symbol for the world trade relations as a whole, the challenges of globalization and justice of the world trade order. Due to the expansion, consolidation and the increased enforcement of its rules, the relevance of the World Trade Organization will continue to increase. This book describes the institutional system, the basic principles and the vast variety of rules of the World Trade Organization. It aims at clarifying the structures and the general concepts, in order to enable the reader to get a better understanding of the issues at stake in many of the discussions and controversies on world trade.