of all too many years, with the full participation of the developing countries. Concepts such as the Generalized System of Preferences and part IV of GATT do not ~ount to an international trade agreement that affirmatively contributes to their development. The area of services trade is one of remaining fields in which there is an opportunity to attain something like equality . IV. PROSPECTS FOR AN EARLY CONCLUSION OF THE CODE 78. The growing significance of transnational corporatJons in tl~ world economy increases the importance of concluding an international framework that would promote and guide essential functions performed by those coL·poraUuus, pc:u·ticularly in mobilizing the capital, skills and technological resourc;es required to meet: world growth and development needs. 79. Global economic and politica l ·relations have change<l over t:he pr~st two decades, altering as well the manner in which transnational corporatious conduct their operations. Increasing ly interdependent movements of internat ioual trade, I••• E/C.10/1990/5 English Page 24 investment and finance have restructured international economic relations. Government interests have evolved, influenced by the rate and pattern of economic development, regional interests, and emerging issues of common global concern. While ever more important, transnational corporations themselves also have changed. The cast of contemporary transnational corporations differs significantly from that of their predecessors in number and variety of sizes and countries of origin as well as in more qualitative aspects of operational control and managerial decision-making. 80. These changes reshape many of the determinative factors in the debate over transnational corporations. Original motivations and perceptions might no longer apply in the same way, particularly with the decline in political antagonisms over specific transnational corporation conduct. New and more systemic needs have arisen related to the evolving nature of transnationa l business ana its impact on an increasingly integrated global economic network. 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the significance of transnational corporations in the global economy, their evolution over the past two decades, and the need for an international framework to promote their functions. It also touches on the importance of concluding an international trade agreement that contributes to the development of developing countries. The text does not mention specific environmental, health, or humanitarian issues.

**Category**
International trade, Industry