The Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) was established in 1989 during the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Now a responsibility of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which replaced the GATT, the TPRM provides mutual surveillance of WTO members' trade policies. Such surveillance provides information on the trade practices of all countries and establishes a forum within which members can question one another's policies.

Each Trade Policy Review consists of three parts: a report by the government under review, a report written independently by the WTO Secretariat, and the concluding remarks by the chair of the Trade Policy Review Body. A highlights section provides an overview of key trade facts. 15 to 20 new review titles are published each year. The reviews consist of detailed chapters examining the trade policies and practices of the member and describing trade policy-making institutions and the macroeconomic situation; these chapters are preceded by the Secretariat's Summary Observations, which summarize the report and presents the Secretariat's perspective on the member's trade policies. The Secretariat report and the member's policy statement are published after the review meeting, along with the minutes of the meeting and the text of the Chairperson's Concluding Remarks.

The WTO's Trade Policy Review Mechanism, which reviews the trade policies and practices of each WTO member at regular intervals, is generally considered to function well. In this day and age, complacency is unwise. Examining trade policy reviews throughout the lifetime of the TPRM, this book details its evolution from Article X of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to the proposed modifications resulting from the mechanism's latest appraisal, examining the budgetary capabilities and technical performance of all the main entities who participate in the reviews. On the basis of these considerations, the author concludes that in order to remain relevant, especially in times of increased global protectionism, the TPRM could, and should do better, and provides unique and timely suggestions for reform.

Lovett (Tulane Law School), Eckes (a former commissioner of the U.S. International Commission during the Reagan and Bush I administrations), and Brinkman (international economics, Portland State U.) evaluate the evolution of U.S. trade policy, focusing on the period from the establishment of the Gen

Monitoring the trade policies and practices of members is a fundamentally important activity of the World Trade Organization. All WTO members are reviewed at regular intervals, according to their share of world trade. Each Trade Policy Review consists of three parts: a report by the government under review, a report written independentlyby the WTO Secretariat, and the concluding remarks by the chair of the Trade Policy Review Body. A highlights section provides an overview of key trade facts.

Each Trade Policy Review describes the trade policies, policy-making institutions, practices, & macroeconomic situations of a featured country.