The WTO,the Doha Round Impasse,PTAs, and FTAs/RTAs

Beginning in 2001, the Doha Rounds afforded World Trade Organization (WTO) members the opportunity to develop equitable trade rules between the developed and developing member states. The WTO has been successful in advancing multilateral international trade; however, since the Doha Rounds stalemate, it has witnessed the development of more than 300 Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) and over 500 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). This article attempts to answer two questions: (1) has the failure of the Doha Rounds contributed to the proliferation of PTAs and FTAs, and (2) are these agreements threatening the regulatory authority of the WTO, which, in turn, reduces its ability to effectively promote and govern free trade, and its mission?     

试论ECFA原产地规则之构建——以中国区域贸易实践为视角

《适用于货物贸易早期收获产品的临时原产地规则》作为《海峡两岸经济合作框架协议》的一项阶段性成果,保障了彼此间的优惠关税待遇,也避免了其他国家或地区的免费搭车。然而其毕竟适用范围有限,规则设定局限。笔者认为应当结合我国区域贸易实践,制定适合两岸经贸发展的ECFA原产地规则。     

原产地规则研究综述

原产地规则是国际贸易领域的一项基本原则,美国早在十九世纪早期便对此问题进行关注和研究,并将其原产地规则的立法经验引入到国际公约,对《京都公约》和WTO《原产地规则协定》都形成了重大影响。我国对原产地规则的研究始于改革开放之后,经历了进出口双轨制和入世后的统一期。在十七大提出"自贸区战略"后迎来了快速发展期。本文将对原产地规则在我国的发展历程、国内外研究文献和成果进行梳理,在对我国原产地规则的研究现状进行评述的基础上展望今后的研究趋势。     

试析欧共体的优惠贸易协定政策与WTO规则的协调与兼容

欧共体与世界上100多个国家签有种类繁多、名称各异的优惠贸易协定,这使其拥有了一张当今世界上最大的优惠贸易"网络"。近年来,欧共体将对外贸易协定从单向优惠调整为双向互惠一方面是为了与WTO规则相协调,特别是WTO争端解决机构对香蕉案的裁决起到了"催化剂"的作用;但另一方面,这种政策调整的背后还有着更为重要的政治与经济动因,凸现出欧共体对于WTO规则的理解与运用透着很强的实用主义色彩,维护与拓展经贸利益是其进行政策调整的根本目的。     

WTO《原产地规则协议》对贸易的影响

多边贸易体制中的"原产国标记"与乌拉圭回合《原产地规则协议》对用于海关贸易统计的一般原产地规则做出了原则性规定,但对优惠原产地方面却没有制订出为世界各国所接受的多边规定,致使优惠原产地规则被滥用,对世界贸易产生不均衡性影响。我国原产地规则领域存在的问题突出表现为立法滞后、法规不周详不健全;出口货物原产地授予标准过宽,致使原产地规则不具备宏观调控和投资结构政策导向功能;进口商品原产地认定标准过宽,危害我国幼稚产业的健康发展等方面,导致我国加工贸易减少,对我国吸引外商投资的环境改善将产生不利影响。     

Trade Negotiations in the Americas and What They Mean for You

The United States is engaged in two huge trade negotiations—the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership—that will have a profound impact on our economy and on the world trade system. These agreements can be an important template for new rules governing world trade, and they address some important new areas, such as regulatory issues. However, if they are to be a good template, U.S. negotiators have to alter some of their proposals, and these new agreements have to prohibit predatory trade practices, such as currency manipulation.     

Preferential rules of origin—A conceptual outline

The European Community’s preferential trading agreements with third countries all contain origin rules, which lay down a number of detailed criteria that must be met in order for goods to qualify for preferential customs treatment. These “preferential rules of origin” are currently under discussion by policy-makers¹ and economists developing guidelines for policy-makers. However, no such discussion is apparent in the more recent academic literature. It appears that scientific debate so far has not analysed in depth the basic legal concepts and instruments contained in preferential trading agreements. The following article attempts to identify these instruments and draft a conceptual overview.     

对FTA原产地规则实施带来的影响分析——以NAFTA为例

FTA原产地规则的实施,给FTA成员国以及非成员国带来的影响是多方面的和复杂的。本文以NAFTA的原产地规则为例,从贸易、投资、就业和成本这四个方面实际分析FTA原产地规则实施的影响。     

TTIP – Probleme und Chancen

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is the most important trade policy decision that European leaders have faced in many years. The new generation of free trade agreements, including TTIP, aim at deep economic integration. Thus, they are essentially focused upon the removal or alignment of standards, regulations and administrative procedures that impede international trade and investment. Therefore, TTIP goes beyond the dimensions of traditional preferential trade agreements in the sense that it not only concerns tariffs and non tariff barriers to trade in goods, but it also concerns trade in services and the foreign investment environment. Regulatory cooperation under TTIP might thus well extend into core domains of public policy, including health and food safety or environmental regulation. Regulation, however, confers both benefits and costs to society. A proper assessment of TTIP must therefore also consider the benefits of regulation to society and must embed regulatory cooperation between the EU and US into a firm democratic framework. The potential of such an agreement is substantial, due to improved market access, regulatory cooperation and greater global reach, while the downside risk is limited. While some of the arguments critical of TTIP are justified, others seem rather excessive and seem intent on stirring up unnecessary anxiety among the population. An objective and constructive discussion is crucial to ensure that the needs of the population are heard during the negotiation process and that an agreement capable of achieving majority support can be concluded. The debate over TTIP has to consider not only the economic effects of increased trade but also the legal and political dimensions of the trade agreement.     

优惠性原产地规则的效应分析--兼论世界贸易组织统一优惠性原产地规则的必要性

在国际贸易日趋自由化的背景下，原产地规则尤其是优惠性原产地规则却日渐被用作非关税贸易保护措施。乌拉圭回合制定的《原产地规则协议》对非优惠性原产地规则做出了统一规定，但未能对优惠性原产地规则制订出多边规则。本文分析优惠性原产地规则的保护机制及其效应，指出WTO统一优惠性原产地规则的必要性。     

Trade, competition and antidumping—Breaking the impasse!?

Recent reviews of the WTO, while cautioning against broadening its scope, nevertheless agree that antidumping concerns would need to be addressed “somehow”. Obviously, promoting international market access and “fair” competition is difficult in the presence of divergent rules for dealing with private market power and non-border restraints to trade. This is especially true once these differences are taken to justify preferences for highly discretionary trade policy measures in dealing with dumping concerns. Antidumping and the prerequisite competition issues will therefore have to be put onto the agenda of the new round of trade negotiations.     

China's New Regional Trade Agreements

This paper discusses the recent regional trade agreements that China has concluded rapidly following accession to the WTO in 2002. Agreements are in place with Hong Kong, Macao, ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand, and are either in negotiation or under discussion with South Africa, Chile, India and the Gulf Cooperation Council. These agreements differ sharply in form and substance, and involve process commitments to ongoing negotiation and cooperation on a wide range of issues. Differences relating to the regional agreements negotiated by the EU and the US are emphasised, as are later potential difficulties these agreements create in moving to an Asian trade bloc centred on them.     

The Dispute Settlement Mechanism of the WTO: A Brief History and an Evaluation from Economic,Contractarian and Legal Perspectives

Any rule‐based system has to include a mechanism for the enforcement of its rules and a means for settlement of disputes about alleged violation of rules. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), concluded in 1947, and its successor the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that subsumed it in 1995, embody rules governing the global trading system as specified in various agreements that their members have entered into over time. Naturally, both had a dispute settlement mechanism (DSM). It was a primarily political one in the GATT and was transformed into a largely legalistic one in the multilateral agreement that established the WTO. This paper reviews the history and evaluation of the two DSMs and examines their efficiency based on appropriate criteria. It views them from three alternative and overlapping perspectives: political‐diplomatic, legal‐economic and social. It concludes with a discussion of the unresolved problems in the operation of the WTO's DSM and the prospects of resolving them in the ongoing Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations.     

论完善中国-东盟自由贸易区原产地规则

原产地规则在国际区域经济一体化组织中被广泛应用,世界上所有的自由贸易区都将原产地规则作为保护成员国利益的一项重要机制.原产地规则在促进自由贸易区内部贸易,保护成员国利益,促进外商投资等方面发挥重要作用.文章在对自由贸易区"有效的"原产地规则应具有的功能进行理论分析的基础上,对完善中国-东盟自由贸易区原产地规则的必要性和途径进行论述.     

Regional trade agreements and WTO accession of CIS countries

The successor states of the Former Soviet Union which are today members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) for the most part began to liberalise their trade regimes in the early and mid-1990s. At the same time they have pursued two major long-term strategies in an attempt to foster their integration within the region and into the global trading system: First, various forms of bilateral and plurilateral regional trade agreements were formed. Secondly, with the exceptions only of Turkmenistan and Tadjikistan all CIS countries have applied for accession to the WTO. Given the plethora of bi- and plurilateral RTAs and arcane and inconsistent trade regulations, WTO membership is likely to be a sine qua non to rationalise the trade and integration strategies of the CIS countries. Michael Roberts was a trade expert in the EU TACIS project “Support to Improving Agricultural and Food Trade among the CIS countries”, Moscow, and is a consultant to the WTO. Peter Wehrheim is an associate Professor at the Institute for Economics, Agricultural Policy, and Policy Information Systems, University of Bonn, Germany. Both authors have been assigned to the project by AFC Consultants International GmbH, Bonn. AFC implemented the project in cooperation with ASA, Bonn, and Agritechno, Bruxelles Support by these firms is gratefully acknowledged. The interpretations expressed in this document are those of the authors alone and should in no way be taken to reflect the policies or opinions of the above-mentioned firms or the Commission of the EU.     

欧盟、北美优惠性原产地规则对我国的借鉴

经济全球化的加剧使得中间品贸易越来越频繁,最终产品的国籍变得越来越模糊。在我国参与组建更多区域性优惠贸易协定时,优惠性原产地规则显然成为一项重要的贸易政策工具。欧盟与北美两大地区的原产地规则已在世界范围内造成广泛影响,为我国原产地规则的制定提供了有益的参考。在简单介绍原产地规则后着重研究了欧盟与北美的优惠性原产地规则。在分析我国原产地规则的基础上,从欧美的实践总结出几点启示,即我国应逐步完善制度性管理规则,逐渐协调和统一原产地规则并结合自身目标综合使用标准。     

Growth Potential for Maritime Trade and Ports in Europe

Global economic development in recent decades has been characterised by a rapidly progressing intensification in world trade and the international division of labour. As a result of the expansive development of international merchandise trade, cargo shipping has been one of the fastest growing economic sectors. The progressive global integration processes, the future reduction in trade barriers and the expected increase in prosperity in numerous regions of the world will also call for a marked expansion in world trade and cargo shipping. This designates maritime logistics as an economic sector with favourable perspectives for development. What growth rates can be expected for EU maritime trade? And what impact will these have on Europe’s ports? This article is based on the HWWI and Berenberg Bank study “Maritime Trade and Transport Logistics” published in 2007.     

Fair Trade: Dynamic and Dilemmas of a Market Oriented Global Social Movement

Fair Trade is analysed as a new economic social movement to the extent that it is based on new forms of collective action and directs its demands primarily to the market rather than to the State. In addition, it is intrinsically a global movement harnessing development goals to new market relations. It differs, however, from similar movements (organics, animal welfare) to the extent that it focuses primarily on traditional issues of redistributive justice rather than a new generation of rights and duties. Fair Trade is understood as having three components: (i) the organization of alternative trading networks; (ii) the marketing of Fair Trade labelled products through licensed conventional traders and retailers; and (iii) the campaign-based promotion of Fair Trade to change both purchasing practices and the rules of conventional trade. As a market oriented movement, Fair Trade relies crucially on the emergence of a new politicization of consumer activity comprising not only “consumer-activists” but also the State as consumer and a new layer of political consumers sensitive to issues of social justice in their daily purchasing practices.

Formulating Trade Policy in a Small Hydrocarbon‐dependent Economy: The Case of Trinidad and Tobago

We examine the status of Trinidad and Tobago's trade policy regime based mainly on the WTO's Trade Policy Review 2005 and to a lesser extent the Review of 1998. The paper highlights the areas identified by the WTO that the country needs to address to ensure compliance with the rules, disciplines and commitments made under the Multilateral Trade Agreements and the existence of a trade regime characterised by little or no distortions. It undertakes this discussion against the background of Trinidad and Tobago's role as a founding member of CARICOM and the increasing influence of this body in determining its trade policies in particular and economic policies in general. The study highlights the progress made by Trinidad and Tobago in establishing an outward‐oriented trade regime since embracing reforms in the mid‐1980s. However, the need for much deeper reforms is stressed if the country is to realise its ambitious objective of becoming the manufacturing base and the commercial, trans‐shipment and financial hub of the western hemisphere. Further, it points to the inextricable link between the country's economic fortunes and international petroleum prices, and increasing over‐reliance on the hydrocarbons sector. Consequently, it stresses the need for getting its diversification strategy ‘right’ if it is to minimise the fallout effects associated with the bust that inevitably follows a petroleum boom.     

Economic Partnership Agreements between African-Caribbean-Pacific countries and the European Union: revisiting contested issues

Abstract

Efforts to conclude Economic Partnership Agreements between African-Caribbean-Pacific countries and European Union drag on. The former prefers the Agreements as cooperation agreements, promoting development, whereas the latter prefers them strictly as trade regimes. Contested issues include the Agreements’ scope and replacement of non-reciprocity of preferences with reciprocity of preferences. Africans doubted the relevance of the reciprocity principle to development but now succumb to pressures, signing the Agreements. This paper debates current developments in the Agreements, hoping that cautiousness prevails in making commitments. It suggests an alternation of trade benefits between the Agreement partners, based on economic outlooks.