GATT, WTO and the Regulation of International Trade in Textiles

Book excerpt: Published in 1997, in this book an attempt has been made to analyze the legal structure of GATT and the WTO as well as those agreements which control trade in textiles. One of the GATT's major failures was its inability to come into line with the new economic reality and the needs of those states who created this system for controlling international trade. Trade in textiles was an excellent example of this. Now, the WTO aims to overcome this problem thanks to its greater pragmatism and its search for solutions to free trade difficulties. The WTO is not, however, the perfect solution. Its highly political character allows room for improvement even though the key to its success still lies with the effective cooperation of member states. As for the textile sector, this new panorama for trade in goods provides it with a new opportunity to finally return to the general legal framework in the year 2005.