Marrakesh Agreement

The Marrakesh Agreement of 1994 is the culmination of the GATT’s Uruguay Round that was introduced in 1986 and led to the establishment of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The Marrakesh Declaration was signed by 123 nations on 15th April 1994 and WTO came into being on 1st January 1995.

Aspirants should not confuse WTO-Marrakesh Agreement with World Intellectual Property Organisations’ (WIPO) Marrakesh Treaty (2013) to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled.

Marrakesh Declaration – GATT to WTO

GATT stood for, ‘General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade’. It was an international trade agreement that was signed in 1947 in a bid to reduce trade barriers among world nations. It was superseded by the WTO in 1994 when Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiations, after eight years of talks, signed the Marrakesh Declaration/ Marrakesh Agreement.

Read more about GATT at the linked article.

Marrakesh Agreement & Uruguay Round

What is the Uruguay Round?

GATT member nations introduced Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiations at Punta del Este, Uruguay in September 1986. It covered almost all trade policy issues. The Uruguay round is called the largest trade negotiation ever.

What happened in the Uruguay Round?

With the original agenda to wind up the trade negotiations in four years, Uruguay Round of trade negotiations took seven and a half years to bring forward the final agreement called the Marrakesh Agreement. The main points of the Uruguay Round are given below:

1. All articles encompassed by GATT were put to review under Uruguay Round.
2. Some of the subjects that the Uruguay Round covered were:
   • Market Access for Tropical Products
   • Dispute Settlement System
   • Trade Policy Review Mechanism
   • Agriculture: services, market access, anti-dumping rules
   • Proposed creation of a new institution
3. Blair House Accord – A deal signed between the EU and the USA to settle their differences on agriculture in November 1992.
4. Marrakesh Agreement – On 15 April 1994, the deal was signed by ministers from most of the 123 participating governments at a meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco.

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Overview of Marrakesh Agreement for UPSC

Marrakesh Agreement included among other provisions, commitments to reopen the negotiations over agriculture and services. Hence, it was taken up in WTO’s Doha Round of Negotiations.

1. Along with the establishment of the WTO, the Marrakesh Declaration mentioned its functions and scope.
2. Marrakesh Agreement is called the The following agreements were covered in the Marrakesh Declaration:
   • Multilateral Agreements on Trade in Goods
   • General Agreement on Trade in Services and Annexes
   • Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
   • Plurilateral Trade Agreements
   • Agreement on Agriculture
   • Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures
   • Agreement on Textiles and Clothing
   • Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
   • Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures
   • Agreement on Anti-Dumping
   • Agreement on Customs Evaluation
   • Agreement on Preshipment Inspection
   • Agreement on Rules of Origin
   • Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures
   • Agreement on Subsidy and Countervailing Measures
   • Agreement on Safeguards
   • General Agreement on Trade in Services
   • Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, Including Trade in Counterfeit Goods

UPSC GS 2 & Related Links