This work brings a historical analysis of the multilateral trading system, focusing on its importance to the building up of the international economic order, after the Second World War. From an evolutionary perspective, the international context in which the multilateral trading system was created is presented. Moreover, the interactions between world historical transformations and the development of the multilateral trading system, from GATT to WTO, are analyzed, both in political and economic points of view. Furthermore, the role played by the Brazilian economic diplomacy in building and transforming the multilateral trading system is analyzed. Some considerations are also made on the Doha Round of trade talks and its importance to the developing countries.
GATT; WTO; Multilateralism; International Trade; Economic Diplomacy
