Kazakhstan’s negotiations to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) will have far-reaching consequences for its future economic and political development—the reforms demanded by WTO membership will determine whether the country moves along a path of market-based development or remains mired in dysfunctional command-and-control policies and institutions. WTO membership and the ensuing broadening and deepening of trade and investment flows will also provide the means for the emergence of Kazakhstan from Russia’s orbit and will allow for closer ties with nations outside of Central Asia. At this seminar, Brian Hindley, a scholar at the European Centre for International Political Economy, a free-market think tank in Brussels, will present the analysis and conclusions of a new study dealing with Kazakhstan and WTO membership. Three other trade experts--Daniel J. Ikenson of the Cato Institute, Anuar Kurzhikayev of the embassy of Kazakhstan, and Ernest Preeg of Manufacturers Alliance--will comment on the presentation and the issues it raises.