Abstract

This paper evaluates the impact on Uganda of the liberalisation of world trade, especially in agricultural commodities, as proposed in the Uruguay Round. We can draw three broad conclusions. First, the impact of multilateral liberalisation on a low-income country such as Uganda appears to be quite slight, albeit positive, largely because there is only a slight impact on the world prices of the agricultural commodities it exports. Second, the principal gains actually arise from reforms that are essentially unilateral trade liberalisation. Third, the impact is likely to be pro-poor. Although the largest proportional gains are to the urban self-employed, there are significant gains in agriculture that benefit almost all categories of rural household.