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.

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 work 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.

The Trade Policy Review Mechanism, a permanent feature of the World Trade Organization (WTO), is designed to contribute to improving adherence by all WTO members to rules, disciplines, and commitments made under the Multilateral Trade Agreement. This volume in the series provides information on the trade policies, practices, and macroeconomic situations of the United States. Each Trade Policy Review is expertly prepared after in-depth analysis of an individual nation by the WTOs Trade Policy Review Board.

A fascinating insight into the work of the WTO's Trade Policy Review Mechanism, this book examines its findings, its evolution, and proposed modifications, to conclude that it could, and should, do better.

Surveillance of national trade policies is a fundamentally important activity running throughout the work of the WTO. At the centre of this work is the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM). The reviews take place in the Trade Policy Review Body which is actually the WTO General Council--comprising the WTO's full membership--operating under special rules and procedures. The reviews are therefore essentially peer-group assessments, although much of the factual leg-work is done by the WTO Secretariat. The reports consist of detailed chapters examining the trade policies and practices of the Member and describing trade policymaking 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.

Adherence to agreed rules and the provision of accurate information are of crucial importance for free trade. The Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is one of the major sources of this kind of information. Due to the organization's almost global membership and the strong position of the TPRM within the WTO system, the review mechanism is a prime example of an internationally accepted surveillance body. As a result, both academia and the creators of the TPRM saw developing countries as the main profiteers from the mechanism. In contrast to previous studies, the focus of this research lies on an assessment of the Trade Policy Reviews (TPRs) for the countries with the largest shares in world trade. Based on signalling theory, the paper tries to investigate the TPRMs influence on a country's reputation and its ability to reduce information asymmetries. For the former, the results are mixed. Even though there is evidence that countries tend to be willing to improve their reputation as trading partners, the countries under review were reluctant to adjust their policies only because of pressure from the TPRs. As far as the reduction of information asymmetries is concerned, the results are more positive. The increasing and continued questioning about certain policies tends to close existing information gaps and even seems to cause countries to provide more extensive information.

The Trade Policy Review Mechanism, a permanent feature of the World Trade Organization (WTO), is designed to contribute to improving adherence by all WTO members to rules, disciplines, and commitments made under the Multilateral Trade Agreement. This volume in the series provides information on the trade policies, practices, and macroeconomic situations of the United States. Each Trade Policy Review is expertly prepared after in-depth analysis of an individual nation by the WTO's Trade Policy Review Board.