Carbon Border Adjustment and Other Trade Policy Approaches for Climate Protection

Intereconomics - The idea of a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) is crucial to level the playing field between domestic producers and foreign suppliers of carbon-intensive products.     

Effective Protection,Policy Appraisal and Trade Policy Reform

When the effective protection concept was first developed it was widely regarded as a key measure of the structure of protection and became widely deployed. It was however, subject to a theoretical critique on the grounds that it was essentially a partial equilibrium measure, which could not be easily embedded in a general equilibrium framework. Notwithstanding this critique, the concept has continued to be widely used, especially in the context of policy reform and policy appraisal in developing countries. This paper re‐appraises the concept, reviews the extent of its application and discusses the factors behind its longevity as an investigative tool. The paper concludes that the measure still has a role to play in evaluating the structure of protection.     

我国四大自贸区的共性分析、战略定位和政策建议

我国设立的自贸区本质上是以更大的开放促进更深入的改革。上海、广东、天津和福建四大自贸区在战略定位上各有侧重。上海自贸区重在金融创新和科技创新以及推动长三角乃至长江经济带协同发展;广东自贸区以制度创新为核心,促进内地与港澳经济深度融合;天津自贸区承担着贯彻落实京津冀协同发展国家战略的重任;福建自贸区以“对台湾开放”和“全面合作”为方向,进一步深化两岸经济合作。对于自贸区的未来发展,我们建议在国家层面成立强有力的协调机构,尽快制定《中国自由贸易区促进法》,与“一带一路”战略紧密对接,进一步推动行政管理体制改革,深化金融体制改革。     

一般均衡分析在自由贸易区研究中的应用

正在建设中的“中国-东盟自由贸易区”是完全由发展中国家组成的经济集团,成员国产业结构相似,生产技术水平相当,国际分工不显著.这样的自由贸易区对区内贸易量的推动作用有其特殊性.文章尝试用一般均衡分析方法,依据比较优势理论和区域经济一体化理论,论述中国-东盟自由贸易区的建立将给其成员带来“双优势贸易效应”,从而为我国参与地区经济一体化,拓展地区市场,实现“多赢”的地区合作提供理论依据.     

金砖国家发展自由贸易区的战略冲突与利益协调

自由贸易区是多边贸易体制的有效补充。实施自由贸易区战略是当今世界各主要经济体的主要政策选择。金砖国家也在积极推动自由贸易区建设,以加深其对外经贸联系。文章通过分析金砖国家发展自由贸易区的战略重点、利益诉求、推进方案,试图寻找彼此之间的共同利益、潜在冲突和冲突根源。由于金砖国家对自由贸易区的功能定位、认知及利益诉求存在明显差异,其战略利益冲突不可避免。短期内金砖国家存在着被排斥在彼此的自由贸易区建设之外的可能性。因此,建议建立相应的利益评估与冲突化解机制,积极倡导建立"金砖国家自由贸易区",扩大经贸合作,夯实共同利益基础。     

从集体行动的逻辑看国际贸易保护与地区性自由贸易区的盛行

传统的贸易理论认为,自由贸易是每一个国家的追求目标,而且每个国家都将朝这个方向努力。然而,事实上具有共同利益的每个国家并没采取一致的行动,国际贸易争端却频频发生,自由贸易格局难以产生。本文从集体行动逻辑的视角考察了上述问题,并指出贸易中的国家都在按奥尔森提供的思路,缓解集体行动困境:(1)减少集团成员数量;(2)提供“不对称”收益;(3)提供选择性激励。这对当今的国际贸易格局有一定的解释力。     

Environmental Policy,North-South Trade and FDI

We analyze trade between two countries, called the North and the South. There is one firm in each country and production costs are lower in the South. To serve foreign markets firms may export or engage in FDI. Both countries set tariffs on imported goods. We find that the implementation of an environmental policy by the South may affect the location decision of the Southern firm. When only the North sets an environmental tax, firms engage in FDI if the difference in costs between the two countries is low, otherwise the South exports and the Northern firm engages in FDI. If the South also sets an environmental tax, this does not restrict FDI by Northern firm, encourages FDI by the domestic firm, reduces its environmental damage and increases joint welfare. Finally, in equilibrium the South decides to implement an environmental policy and both firms engage in FDI.     

Malaysian Trade Policy and the 2001 WTO Trade Policy Review

The purpose of this paper is two–fold; to examine developments in trade and investment policy regimes in Malaysia following the on–set of the financial crisis, using the Trade Policy Review Malaysia: 2001 of the WTO as a reference point; and to evaluate the Review in terms of the objectives of the WTO Trade Policy Review Mechanism as set out in the Marrakesh Agreement. It is found that, by and large Malaysia has managed to come out of the crisis without compromising on its long–standing commitment to maintaining a relatively open trade and investment policy regime by the regional standards. However, there are some disturbing post–crisis developments, which deserve scrutiny in a future Review. These include increase in the degree of dispersion of tariff rates because of high tariff peaks relating to a few product lines, increased reliance on non–automatic import licensing to regulate imports of a significant number of products which directly compete with domestic production by public sector enterprises, and unexplained delays in meeting commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)     

China,Pakistan Sign Free Trade Agreement

The People＇s Republic of China ＆ Pakistan Islamic Republic Free Trade Agreement （FTA） was signed by Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai and his Pakistani counterpart Jumayun Akhtar Khan, in the presence of Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Pakistani counterpart Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad,     

对外贸易、环境污染与政策调整

我国改革开放以来实行的以出口导向为主的外贸发展战略是基于自然资源、劳动力、环境标准等方面的比较优势,虽然极大地促进了经济增长,但同时也带来了严重的环境污染。本文认为在核算比较优势时未考虑环境成本是导致污染的重要原因,并在此基础上提出了调整我国出口导向产业政策的几点建议。     

天津自由贸易试验区经济增长效应:机制检验与政策应对

天津自由贸易试验区肩负着打通北方城市"一带一路"对外开放、服务京津冀城市群建设的重要使命。在对自由贸易试验区经济增长效应检验的基础上,本文着重分析天津自由贸易试验区的经济驱动效果及其动力机制。结果显示:自由贸易试验区的设立有效驱动了区域经济的快速增长,且沿海型自由贸易试验区的政策效果明显好于内陆型,为国家实施自贸区战略、为自贸区选址提供了参考。从整体看,天津自由贸易试验区的设立对区域经济发展驱动效果不明显,其重要原因在于其未能充分发挥出自由贸易试验区应有的"贸易效应"、"资本效应"以及"高端产业集群效应",而且出口驱动力、外商直接投资与全社会固定资产投资驱动力以及产业结构升级驱动力等均处于"失灵"状态。     

建立中国和澳大利亚自由贸易区的经济影响分析及政策建议

加入世贸组织后,中国逐渐重视双边自由贸易协定的积极作用,继中国-东盟(“10+1”)自由贸易区之后,中国和澳大利亚的自由贸易协定正在协商之中。本文目的是研究中国和澳大利亚建立自由贸易区后对中澳两国和其他国家的经济影响。本文采用全球贸易分析模型,对自由化方案作了分析,研究结果表明:中澳两国间存在明显的经济互补性,建立自由贸易区将改进两国和世界总福利,澳大利亚的农业和工业都将受益,农业部门所得利益大于工业部门,中国所得利益全部来自劳动力密集型的工业部门,而农业部门会受到一定的冲击。最后,基于模拟分析结果,提出应对措施和政策建议。