1. The History of GATT 1947 and Its Rounds of Trade Negotiation
1. GATT 1947的发展历史及其贸易谈判回合

WTO的前身是于1948年1月1日依《临时适用议定书》生效的《关贸总协定》（GATT 1947），其创始成员有23个。由于1948年联合国贸易与就业大会所通过的《哈瓦拉宪章》未能生效，GATT 1947一直作为唯一的管理全球贸易的协定，适用到1995年1月1日WTO协定生效之日。GATT通过多轮多边贸易谈判，不断推进国际贸易的发展和贸易规则的完善，其中乌拉圭回合谈判涉及面最广，谈判时间也最长，取得的成果也最为丰富，包括正式成立世界贸易组织（WTO）。GATT协定经过修正与补充，仍为WTO体制下的一个基本协定，称为GATT 1994。

1.1 The Conclusion and Development of GATT

1.1 GATT的缔结与发展

During World War Ⅱ, Participants in The Bretton Woods Conferencein 1944 recognized a post-War need to reduce trade barriers in order to foster freer trade. The goals for such institutions were as much political as economic-the prevention of war and the establishment of a just system of economic relations. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development（IBRD, or World Banks）and the International Monetary Fund（IMF）were the resulting institutions of the meeting. However, it was recognized at that time that an international organization to regulate trade was a necessary complement to the IMF and the IBRD. After the second world war, over 50 countries, including the original 23 GATT countries, were working on a draft charter for an international trade organization（ITO Charter）which would have been a specialized agency of the United Nations. The charter was intended to provide not only world trade disciplines but also rules relating to employment, commodity agreements, restrictive business practices, international investment and services. Although the ITO Charter was finally adopted at a UN conference on Trade and Employment in Havana in March 1948, ratification in national legislatures proved impossible in some cases. In 1950, with the United states government announced that it would not seek Congressional ratification of the Havana Charter, which means ITO was dead before being effective.

Alongside the ITO Charter negotiation, tariff negotiations were opened among the 23 founding“contracting parties”in 1946. This first round of negotiationsresulted in 45,000 tariff concessionaffecting $10 billion, about one-fifth of world trade. The value of these concessions was protected by early acceptance of some of the trade rules in the draft ITO Charter. Together-tariff concessions and rules taken from ITO Charter-they became known as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade（GATT）and entered into force in January 1948 by a“Protocol of Provisional Application”after eight named governments, among which the US government had used the president's power to make executive agreement, signed the Protocol before November 15,1947. With a number of amendments to it occurred, the GATT has become the only multilateral instrument governing international trade ever since, till the establishment of WTO in 1995.

1.2 The Provisions and Institutions of GATT 1947

1.2 GATT 1947的内容与机构设置

In fact, GATT 1947 has three parts. First and foremost is the General Agreement itself and its 38 articles. Secondly, some associated agreements covering antidumpingand subsidy rules and other non-tariff or sectoral issueadded at later stages, particularly at the end of the Tokyo Round（1973-1979）. Although membership of these agreements is much more limited than for the General Agreement（GATT）-ranging from less than twenty to about forty-the members nevertheless account for the vast majority of world trade in the relevant areas. Finally, the GATT system is completed by the Multi-Fibre Arrangement（MFA）which is a negotiated exception to the normal disciplines of the General Agreement affecting the textiles and clothing sector.

Most countries have a diplomatic mission in Geneva, sometimes headed by a special ambassador to GATT, whose officials attend meetings of the many negotiating and administrative bodies at GATT headquarters. Sometimes expert representatives are sent directly from capitals to put forward their governments'views on specific questions. The most senior body of GATT is the Session of Contracting Parties, usually held annually. Ministerial-level meetings are rare in GATT years, they have been limited to major developments in the Uruguay Round.

Between Sessions, the Council of Representativesis authorized to act on both routine and urgent matters. The Council meets about nine times a year. Its agenda usually contains a variety of items like bilateral trade disputes, new accessions, waivers，and reports of working parties. Major GATT standing committeesexist to administer each of the Tokyo Round agreements; to pursue matters of special interest to developing countries; to look at the situation of countries using trade restrictions to protect their balance-of-payments（BOP）; to administer the Multi-Fibre Arrangement; to handle tariff questions and to look after the GATT budget.

If some special issues appear（such as requests for GATT accession; to verify that agreements concluded by members are in conformity with GATT obligations; or to study issues on which contracting parties may wish later to take a joint decision）, working parties may be set up when necessary. In addition, panels can be established by the council and other bodies to provide judgments on trade disputes.

Reaching decisions by consensus, not by vote, is an obvious feature of GATT decision-making mechanism. On the rare occasions that voting takes place, each contracting party has one vote and a simple majority is required. In the case of waivers-authorization, in particular cases, to depart from specific obligations in the General Agreement-a two-thirds majorityis required, comprising more than half the contracting parties.

1.3 Multilateral Trade Negotiation（rounds）Under the Auspices of GATT

1.3 GATT管理下的多边贸易谈判（回合）

The biggest leaps forward in international trade liberalization have come through a series of multilateral trade negotiations, or trade rounds, sponsored by GATT. They have held eight such Rounds in all. The eighth round, the Uruguay Round, was launched in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in September 1986.

They are often lengthy-the Uruguay Round took seven and a half years-but trade rounds can have an advantage. They offer a package approach to trade negotiations that can sometimes be more fruitful than negotiations on a single issue. The package approachto negotiations has a number of advantages. First, participants can seek and secure advantages across a wide range of issues. Secondly, concessions which would otherwise be difficult to defend in domestic political terms, can be made more easily in the context of a round than if bilateral relationships between the major trading nations are allowed to dominate. Finally, overall reform in certain politically-sensitive sectors of world trade is more feasible in the context of a global package.

While reduction of tariffs were the main concerns in the early trade rounds, the later rounds began the process of revising, reinterpreting or extending the original articles of the General Agreement, together with tariff cut. For example, the Kennedy Round reached agreement on a new GATT Anti-dumping Agreement. The Tokyo Round went much further-a further revision of the GATT anti-dumping code was also secured.

GATT/WTO Trade Rounds

布雷顿森林会议，指在1944年7月美国新罕布什尔州（Bretton Woods, New Hampshire）召开的联合国国际货币与金融会议。在这次会议上，通过了设立国际货币与开发银行（世界银行，IBRD）与国际货币基金（IMF）的协议，这些协议于1946年生效，由此建立布雷顿森林国际货币金融体制。

联合国专门机构。

该《宪章》不仅要为世界贸易提供一套纪律，还意在为就业、商品协议、限制性商业行为、国际投资与服务提出一些规则。

创始缔约方。

第一回合谈判，这是GATT/WTO为不断推进多边贸易体制所创立的一种谈判方式，即多边的、全面的与分阶段的谈判方式。

关税减让，即各国所做出的削减关税的承诺。

《国际贸易组织宪章》，即1948年在古巴哈瓦那联合国贸易与就业大会上通过的，后来未能生效的关于建立国际贸易组织的宪章，也叫《哈瓦那宪章》。

议定书中提到的对其生效有决定作用的八个国家是：Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Luxembourg, Netherland, the United Kindom, and the United States.

反倾销。

非关税问题与贸易部门问题。

《总协议》，即《关税与贸易总协议》。

《多种纤维协定》，是在原GATT下议定的，规定在纺织品与服装领域可以背离其一些基本原则。

缔约方全体大会。

代表理事会。

常设委员会。

支付平衡，反映一国总体进出口额是否平衡及一国的对外支付能力情况。

协商一致，即不采取投票方式而是以协商一致同意方式决策。

豁免，即在一定条件下经授权可以不履行GATT下的义务。

三分之二多数。

国际贸易自由化取得最大突破的方式，是通过在GATT主持下的一系列多边贸易谈判，称“回合”, GATT一共举办了八个谈判回合。第八回合，也称“乌拉圭回合”，于1986年9月在乌拉圭的埃斯特角发动。

一揽子解决方案。