Business Guide to the World Trading System.

New Sequel to Best-seller from ITC and the Commonwealth Secretariat

A new publication, Business Guide to the World Trading System, was launched by ITC and the Commonwealth Secretariat at a meeting hosted by the British Ministry of Trade in London, United Kingdom in October. Targeted primarily to the business world, the Guide explains business implications of the World Trade Organization's legal framework for international trade. The book is a successor to a previous publication, Business Guide to the Uruguay Round, incorporating the latest developments in the evolving international trade framework.

The Guide has three features which make it unique. First, it describes the WTO legal framework from a business perspective, using simple language and highlighting business implications. Second, it reviews the six cutting-edge trade topics around which WTO has organized its work programme for study and analysis: trade and environment; trade and investment; trade and competition policy; transparency in government procurement; trade facilitation; and electronic commerce. Third, it is the only description of the WTO framework from a business angle which has been reviewed and approved by the WTO Secretariat.

Building on success

Shortly after WTO was established in January 1995 and the Uruguay Round Agreements came into effect, ITC and the Commonwealth Secretariat jointly published a Business Guide to the Uruguay Round. The Guide explained the legal framework for international trade resulting from these Agreements in simple language, emphasizing the business implications of specific provisions and rules.

The initial Guide was very well received by the business community, trade negotiators and foreign trade officials alike. More than 17,000 copies in English, French and Spanish were distributed and the Guide has since been translated by partner organizations into Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Romanian, Russian and other languages. More than 150 seminars and information events on the provisions of the Multilateral Trading System for the business community in developing countries and transition economies have been organized using the Guide as a comprehensive reference tool.

The new publication draws on feed-back to the earlier publication from the business community, trade negotiators and foreign trade officials. While maintaining the overall approach, it reflects major developments since 1995 and contains a new section touching upon emerging trade topics.

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