All countries have much more to gain than to lose from opening up their markets.
As a new round of trade talks begins, the international community should make a commitment to pursue further trade reforms. Even though many aspects of globalization capital flows, migration, and environmental problems have captured worldwide attention in the 1990s, for more than a century the driving force behind global integration has been growing trade in goods and services. At the close of the twentieth century, however, the global trading system is at a crossroads. Traditionally, trade liberalization has benefited developing countries through two important channels. First, when tariffs are lowered, relative prices change and resources are reallocated to production activities that raise national incomes.