This paper characterises the process of economic policymaking and implementation in Zimbabwe, focusing on trade and industrial policies. Specifically, the study investigates the mechanisms through which industrial and trade policies are initiated and adopted. This involves an examination of the institutional relations among the various state organs and other stakeholders, and the roles that such relations play in the process of policy formulation and implementation. Further, the study examines the capacity of both the government and the private sector to formulate and implement trade and industrial policies and strategies for national development. The study also evaluates the strength and constraints faced by industrial and trade support institutions. In addition, it examines the extent to which there is national consensus among the major stakeholders - policy-makers, industrialists and labour unions - with regard to industrialization and development strategies. The key variables affecting policy formulation are the ideology of the ruling party; the dominant development theory; the objective conditions of the economy; the preferences and expertise of technocrats; and the external pressure from donors and foreign technical and policy advisers. The study examines how these variables have affected policy choice and implementation, and how this has changed over time.