Ceec Interests and Options in the WTO 2000 Negotiations

The upcoming "Millennium Round" of WTO multilateral trade negotiations will see a number of new WTO members as negotiating partners, and for the first time will involve a sizeable group of countries with "economies in transition," that will bring their own dynamic to the negotiating table. An important subgroup of these transition economies are the Central and East European Countries (CEECs). Often considered as a group with similar development levels and problems, CEECs at the same time differ in many respects, including their starting positions for the next WTO negotiations. These differences include the speed and degree of economic and policy reforms under implementation, existing national policies, the character of government economic and monetary management, and the place of agriculture in the national economy, as well as significant differences in the types and levels of current WTO commitments. Differing past and present experiences and decisions, as well as common goals and objectives, are likely to be reflected in national negotiating positions. To analyze the potential interests and positions of CEECs in the next round, this paper first looks at the features of possible informal country groupings within CEECs, and then evaluates how their similarities and differences may lead to differing interests and priorities during the negotiations.