A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
These are considered as a key function of the WTO. From the entry into force of the GATT on 1 January 1948 until the Dillon Round of 1960-61, tariffs were negotiated item by item or product by product under the request-and-offer system. The principal supplier of a product to another GATT member had the right to request tariff reductions. During the Kennedy Round, it was agreed to use linear tariff cuts as the dominant method. Whole sections of the tariff were thereby reduced uniformly according to an agreed formula. In the Tokyo Round, the Swiss formula for non-linear tariff cuts was used as a working hypothesis under which higher tariffs were reduced by a greater proportion than low ones. Tariff negotiations for non-agricultural products in the Uruguay Round were partly of the product-by-product type and partly zero-for-zero tariff reductions under which tariffs are reduced to zero for whole classes of products. As concerns agricultural products, it was agreed to use what was know as the Uruguay Round formula, which consisted of an overall average reduction in conjunction with a minimum tariff line reduction.
Derived from: Walter Goode: Dictionary of Trade Policy Terms, Fourth Edition, (Cambridge University Press/WTO, 2003), p.338
See also MULTILATERAL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS.