The dynamics of trade liberalization (original) (raw)
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Why not in the WTO? The erosion of WTO centricity in trade liberalisation
2009
The Graduate Institute's Thinking Ahead on International Trade (TAIT) programme is a four-year research programme devoted to the analyses of medium-term challenges facing the international trade system in general and the WTO in particular. While founded on scholarship, the analysis is undertaken in association with public and business sector actors. The working method seeks advice and input from the public sector (policymakers, diplomats, international civil servants, and government officials) and the private sector in all matters but especially when it comes to gathering views, prioritising issues and developing action plans to address the challenges identified.
TAKING STOCK OF GATT’S CONFLICTING PROVISIONS: COMPETITIVE LIBERALIZATION AND THE DEMISE OF THE WTO
Contained in the GATT, are provisions whose applications contradict each other. Article XXIV, which empowers WTO members to form regional trade agreements (RTAs), otherwise referred to as competitive liberalization, is contrary to the idea of the Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) principle set out article I. Indeed article XXIV is an exception to article I, however the conflict caused by these provisions, has led to a situation where the two will not co-exist for long, and one will eventually phase-out the other. While under article I, countries are prevented from discriminating between their trading partners, and any benefit granted to one member of the WTO must be extended to all WTO members; article XXIV gives countries the option of circumventing article I, to offer preferential trade benefits to only the select few with which they choose to trade through the formation of RTAs. Thus, conclusion of RTAs is a practice that is contrary to the interest of the World Trade Organization. Rules of origin present in most RTAs have a negative impact on competitive liberalization, a key goal of the WTO in combatting protectionism, as RTAs grant special treatment to members regardless of their inability to produce commodities more competitively than non-members due to the reciprocal benefits of RTAs. This seeks to frustrate the aims of the WTO in attempting to effectively regulate international trade, because while RTAs facilitate trade amongst its members; it hinders trade for non-member with which it has no trade desires. Regrettably, however, the WTO has faced increasing difficulty in the regulation of RTAs, in their manifold shapes and sizes.
Multilateral Trade Liberalisation And The Role Of Trade Diplomacy In The 1990s
2017
This paper investigates the relationship between the growing significance of trade diplomacy in multilateral trade negotiations and the changes in the relative bargaining position of the major players, the US and the EC. As the variables of the negotiation equation had become complex in the later GATT trade rounds, middle-power trade diplomacy became a major force in influencing the outcomes of negotiations. It is argued that there is an inverse relationship between the US leadership and the increasing role of trade diplomacy in GATT multilateral trade negotiations.
2020
Over the period 1950 to 1990, an extensive expansion of world trade has taken place, followed by the rapid growth in world output. One of the common explanations of this growth is the establishment of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was signed by 23 countries in 1947. Although successful in terms of reductions of industrial tariffs, GATT's nondiscrimination and reciprocity principles were hampered mainly due to the ambiguity in the rules governing the use of contingent protection. World Trade Organization (WTO) emerged in 1994 to create global environment for free and unhindered trade. The believe was anchored on the fact that global cooperation will foster world peace through trade liberalization. The flawed Doha Round is mired in two fundamental problems. First, it has fallen victim to key players' reluctance to liberalize trade further. Second, the methodology that has been applied is faulty, legitimizing the widespread departure from the original purpose and legal framework of the WTO. This study analyses the nature of the Doha Round Negotiations; its potential outcomes, and possible implications for the multilateral trading system. The study examines various means to prevent the WTO from losing its credibility as a negotiating forum, and suggests improvements in negotiation methodology to conclude the Doha Round successfully in the future.
The end of GATT-WTO history - Reflections on the future of the post-Doha World Trade Organization
Http Edoc Vifapol De Opus Volltexte 2012 3553 Pdf Dp_13 2011 Pdf, 2012
The prospects for a successful conclusion to the Doha Development Round (DDR) have become bleak. This paper reviews the main reasons for the difficulties that World Trade Organization (WTO) members face in reaching an agreement and argues that, as the DDR is likely to be the last multilateral round of talks on trade liberalisation, it will mark the end of GATT/WTO history as we know it. Against this background, the second part of the paper discusses the future role of the WTO post DDR. We envisage its having five main functions: settling trade disputes, overseeing the international trading system and ensuring it functions smoothly; supporting capacity-building by providing technical assistance, training and Aid for Trade for developing countries; performing a research function and acting as a think-tank on trade; and acting as the key forum for discussions and reflections on all topics related to international trade.
Faults of the International Trade System: the Notion of Multilateralism in the Retreat
Human and Social Studies
The indisputable success of the European integration project also prompted other regions of the world to follow suit. On the other side of coin, these regional blocs cultivated free trade within but remained protectionist vis-àvis the outside, thereby impeding the progress of the multilateral trade system. But also the soaring number of WTO member states accompanied by their incompatible interests, its ambitious agenda spanning over 20 diverse issues and, in particular, the single undertaking approach emerged as the Doha’s Round “stumbling blocks”. The utter dismay over the Doha’s Round deadlock has provoked countries to opt for alternative for a outside the WTO in their endeavor to expedite far-reaching trade liberalization. Besides the vast economic growth in Asia and the rise of international production networks, this urge for deeper integration represents one of the central root causes for the most recent wave of PTAs which has been gathering force over the course of the 21st ce...
International Organization, 2007
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade~GATT! and the World Trade Organization~WTO! have been touted as premier examples of international institutions, but few studies have offered empirical proof+ This article comprehensively evaluates the effects of the GATT0WTO and other trade agreements since World War II+ Our analysis is organized around two factors: institutional standing and institutional embeddedness+ We show that many countries had rights and obligations, or institutional standing, in the GATT0WTO even though they were not formal members of the agreement+ We also expand the analysis to include a range of other commercial agreements that were embedded with the GATT0WTO+ Using data on dyadic trade since 1946, we demonstrate that the GATT0WTO substantially increased trade for countries with institutional standing, and that other embedded agreements had similarly positive effects+ Moreover, our evidence suggests that international trade agreements have complemented, rather than undercut, each other+ When and how do international institutions promote cooperation? Few questions are as fundamental to international relations or as salient for world leaders+ Due to the contributions of Keohane and others, we now have sophisticated theories about the emergence and effects of international institutions, but empirical research has not proceeded apace+ 1 As Frieden and Martin point out, "theoretical work on inter-An earlier version of this article was presented at the