Beyond Transparency: An Analysis of the Trade Policy Review of the European Union

The fourth Trade Policy Review of the European Union which was completed by the WTO in 1997 is briefly and selectively analyzed. Analysis is provided of: 1. recent developments in trade policies, 2. trade policy by instruments, and 3. trade policy by sectors. It is found that the WTO's 1997 Trade Policy Review of the European Union has contributed to making the EU's trade policy more transparent. Transparency is an important quality for an evaluation of the full range of individual WTO Members' trade policies and practices. But such an evaluation needs to go a step beyond transparency, and make, where necessary, difficult judgments which might, of course, carry the risk of being contested.