In the course of the implementation of the World Trade Organization Agreements, most developing countries consider that certain imbalances and asymmetries exist. Some countries have had difficulties with respect to certain agreements due to human, institutional and financial constraints. These problems need to be addressed urgently so as to ensure that the multilateral trading system results in mutual benefits for all countries.
Although developing countries need policy flexibility to support and promote their enterprises, investments in production and marketing, and export expansion and diversification, latecomers now face more stringent policy conditions than those which prevailed previously. The multilateral framework of WTO rules contributes to a stable and predictable environment, though it has in certain cases narrowed the range of policy options for Governments. Commitments undertaken under IMF/World Bank structural adjustment programmes have further reduced the remaining policy options.