Why were Developing and the Least Developed Countries so Unhappy with the WTO?
There was a general, and probably justified, feeling among developing countries that they got a raw deal out of the Uruguay Round. They were particularly incensed about the TRIPs agreement, which clearly obligated them to pay the developed countries for the use of its intellectual property. In their view, this was not offset by the increased access to textile and clothing markets in the industrialized world. The phase-out of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement which established quotas for textiles and clothing was too back end loaded for their tastes and safeguards and anti-dumping made their improved access less than fully secure. The developing countries also had real problems in implementing all of their new WTO obligations and felt they did not have the technical expertise to protect their interests in the WTO. And last, but not least, was a general dissatisfaction with the lack of access to developed countries’ markets for agricultural goods.
