WTO “deepening” – reducing barriers and expanding rules

The new WTO promised to usher in a more open and integrated global economy. The Uruguay Round – the most ambitious multilateral trade negotiation in history – had resulted in global tariff reductions of 40 per cent, the liberalization of new sectors such as agriculture, textiles and services, and firm commitments to undertake future sectoral negotiations under the newly created WTO. In the Marrakesh Declaration, which ended the Round and launched the WTO, trade ministers expressed their hope that "the trade liberalization and strengthened rules achieved in the Uruguay Round would lead to a progressively more open world trading environment… for the benefit and welfare of peoples".