The first of a series prepared by the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development. Implementation issues usually refer to compliance with one's negotiated obligations. In the lead-up to the Seattle Ministerial Conference in 1999, however, developing countries began to view implementation in terms of addressing imbalances in the Uruguay Round Agreements, which they felt had hindered the realisation of meaningful gains from the new system of rules. Such imbalances include the lack of implementation of certain commitments and obligations on the part of developed countries (including special and differential treatment provisions, see Doha Round Briefing No. 13) as well as difficulties encountered by developing countries in implementing their new obligations.
