PUBLICATIONS & REPORTS

Contents Introduction

The Tokyo Round was the first attempt to set up new ways to deal with many changes in the trade regime since the end of the war. The most crucial issue in the negotiation was to preserve the liberal ideals embodied in the GATT system against protectionist pressure. Some exponents argue that the Tokyo Round changed the international trading system into a fragmented unstable order. However, the Round not only succeeded in contributing to make the trading system more open and fair by constraining the economic sovereignty of states, but it also became a crucial bulwark against protectionist action. The prevailing approach to explaining the outcome of the Tokyo Round is the hegemonic stability thesis. According to the thesis, the outcome of the Round should have been undesirable to trade liberalisation. In reality, however, the results were cooperative and constructive. The decisive reason accounting for the liberal results is that major trading nations shared liberal values. The orientation toward liberal values is supported by the experience of the interwar period and the empirical fact that high trade performance has promoted economic growth. In addition, growing economic interdependence through intra-industry trade and intra-firm trade has created new trade preference.