Understanding developing countries' capacities to negotiate effective trade agreements : Colombia

Abstract

This thesis explores the obstacles (the negotiation machinery, the asymmetric context of power and the international and domestic context) for developing countries in negotiating international trade agreements with the US. By articulating key components of the negotiation theory with personal experience of economic diplomacy and illustrating them through the process of the World Trade Organization agreement in Colombia during 1994, this research contributes to the understanding of the conventional wisdom of international negotiations in developing countries. This work highlights the challenge of international trade negotiations for developing countries (the absence of critical thinking and prescriptive proposals, and the difficulties in making coalitions to challenge the economic powers) as well as the issues (the competitive race for production and trade of high value products), masked under the cold blood of negotiation protocols and the false flavor of choice.