Generation Of Trade Agreements Research Articles

Conflicts of sovereignty over EU trade policy: a new constitutional settlement?

This paper investigates whether the politicization of a new generation of trade agreements has led to the transformation of EU trade policy. It provides a qualitative study of multilevel contention based on sources from civil society and the parliamentary archives in Belgium, Germany, and the European Union concerning the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and three subsequent agreements concluded by the EU with Japan, Vietnam, and Singapore. We argue that, far beyond mere institutional disputes, the contention surrounding CETA has epitomized two conflicting visions of sovereignty: on the one hand, a vision where national executives qua states share sovereignty under the auspices of the European Commission, and on the other hand, a claim to reassert popular sovereignty (and the channelling thereof by parliaments) in a multilevel fashion. We demonstrate that the strengthening of the latter vision has been limited as the empowerment of parliaments was not sustained when civil society’s mobilization waned. The EU institutions have successfully curtailed the category of mixed agreements thus limiting the involvement of national and regional parliaments. CETA was a climax in the politicization of trade yet failed to bring about a new constitutional settlement that enhances the popular component of sovereignty in the EU.

Principles of Non-Discrimination against Trading State Party of Powerful Country on the basis of World Trade Organization “Case Study Banning Thai Coconut Products”

The principle of Non-discrimination of the World Trade Organization (WT0) aims to provide fairness to all member countries by means of the Most Favored Nations Treatment and National Treatment under the General Agreement of Trade and Tariffs (GATT). Accordingly, the free trade has been promoted in all regions of the world. However, many WTO members resort to take advantage of general exceptions to the non-discriminatory practice by invoking Article XX of WTO in disguise, thus affecting the free trade principle of WTO.

L’agenda progressiste et les accords commerciaux de nouvelle génération

L’agenda « progressiste » ou « inclusif » en commerce international consiste, selon le gouvernement du Canada, en une perspective nouvelle qui contribue aux priorites gouvernementales en matiere d’economie, de societe et d’environnement. L’idee de base est que les benefices du commerce international doivent etre mieux repartis entre tous les citoyens. Les raisons de ce positionnement du Canada sont nombreuses. Le gouvernement est conscient que les citoyens du Canada, mais egalement de plusieu...

How Much of the Transpacific Partnership is in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement?

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) provided the first opportunity for the Trump administration to translate its “America First” trade policy into specific treaty design. In this article, we evaluate how radical these changes have been by systematically comparing the USMCA to its predecessors. We find that, first, the USMCA copies 57 percent of its text from the Transpacific Partnership (TPP), which Trump had repudiated and unsigned once he took office. Compared to U.S. treaty practice generally, the USCMA is more of a continuation rather than a departure from prior texts. Second, we systematically investigate where the USMCA diverges from the TPP. We find that USMCA treaty design differences can be grouped in five categories: (1) structural remnants of NAFTA, such as bi-national panels to review trade remedies; (2) “America First” elements, such as tighter rules of origins; (3) modernizations, e.g. by incorporating TPP innovations on digital trade; (4) additions on non-U.S. policy priorities, such as gender rights, promoted by the other USMCA states; and finally (5) changes of a more technical nature. In sum, contrary to Trump’s rhetoric, the USMCA does not usher in a new generation of trade agreements, but it does engage in targeted innovations that are driven by varying policy considerations that include but are not limited to his “America First” agenda.

Promoting Renewable Energy Through FTAs? The Legal Implications of a New Generation of Trade Agreements

This article addresses the relationship between international trade law and renewable energy focusing on the role played by free trade agreements (FTAs). The analysis of the legal implications of the diverse and evolving techniques used by FTAs to incorporate renewable energy within their texts is framed within a broader theory of the evolution of the narrative underlying the trade and environment nexus. The article argues that the space devoted to environmental and renewable energy considerations in trade agreements has not only expanded but, more importantly, it has significantly changed, reflecting the evolution of trade agreements which are less and less simply trying to accommodate environmental concerns but rather becoming important instruments to ensure the effective advancement of environmental goals.

REVITALISASI PENGELOLAAN DAN PENYELENGGARAAN TRI DHARMA PERGURUAN TINGGI DIANTARA PERSIMPANGAN KEPENTINGAN ANTAR BANGSA

At a recent time, a number of academics ranging from the ‘practical and theoretical academics,’ ‘political academicians,’ ‘academic politicians’ to ‘academic bureaucrats’ are encouragingly striving for responding to the demands of internationalization of Higher Education because of the pressure of global education interests. With the spirit of ‘education liberation’ relying on the General Agreement of Trade in Services (GATS) as a result of ‘industrial globalization matrix’ which is associated with economic motives initiated by the World Trade Organization (WTO) makes some developed countries enthusiastically promote their higher education institutions to a number of countries. Consequently, the invigoration of Indonesian government to all domestic universities to immediately program their institutions as the agents of economy development. Nonetheless, the implementation and management of Tri Dharma are not only specified on developing the strength of national economy but also on social conscience to make the current creativity and innovation can be more relevant to the need of subsistence resources development based on Indonesian characters and uniqueness driven by the moral sense of humanity, fairness and civilized policies. Therefore, the revitalization process should be accordingly manifested toward the principles of Tri Dharma of the university as mandated by Pancasila, Constitution of 1945, Law, GBHN and all of the derivative regulations, not strictly due to the insistence of global pressures. Thus, human resources must be the main agenda to revitalize among other potentials in generating and optimizing the ethic of scientific works in Tri Dharma activities in fulfilling the current necessitates without harming the interests of Indonesian populace. Finally, when Foreign Higher Education policies (FHE) are commercially inclined to globalize their education system and research which is relatively ‘capitalism’, thus our national higher education should be increasingly characterized by the humanity affectionate which elevates the dignity of Indonesia by providing serious devotions and concerns on social and community service.

Trade and Privacy: Complicated Bedfellows? How to Achieve Data Protection-Proof Free Trade Agreements

This independent study assesses how EU standards on privacy and data protection are safeguarded from liberalisation by existing free trade agreements (the General Agreement of Trade in Services (GATS) and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)) and those that are currently under negotiation (the Trans-atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA)). Based on the premise that the EU does not negotiate its privacy and data protection standards, the study clarifies safeguards and risks in respectively the EU legal order and international trade law. In the context of the highly-charged discourse surrounding the new generation free trade agreements under negotiation, this study applies legal methods in order to derive nuanced conclusions about the preservation of the EU’s right to regulate privacy and the protection of personal data.

Situating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (negotiations) in European Union Common Commercial Policy

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations can be distinguished from previous trade negotiations in terms of substance and process. The adoption of the mandate and the ongoing negotiations have taken place in the significantly reformed structure of the European Union (EU)’s Common Commercial Policy after the Lisbon Treaty’s entry into force. Efforts at closer economic integration between the world’s two biggest trading blocs has developed as the EU’s focus shifts from the multilateral trade system toward bilateralism and regionalism, and a new generation of trade agreements emerges. The envisaged TTIP expands the coverage of the agreement to an unprecedented array of commercial relations. Including new issues, such as regulatory cooperation and investment, have impacted the process of negotiations and enhanced its transparency with the involvement of various stakeholders. TTIP as an arrangement may shape the content of the Common Commercial Policy: much of what is achieved could potentially be introduced in other trade negotiations.

Saving the Political Consensus in Favor of Free Trade

2016 is the year that the political consensus in favor liberalized international trade collapsed. Across the world, voters’ belief that international trade agreements lead to economic inequality threatens to derail ratification of the next generation of trade agreements and undo the substantial gains made under existing arrangements. In the United States, both presidential candidates in this fall’s election have denounced the most recent effort to liberalize trade rules, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The United Kingdom voted to pull out of the European Union, one of the world’s largest and most important free trade zones. Europe’s top trade negotiator has declared European trade policy “close to death” after Germany and France held up ratification of a free trade agreement with Canada.In the face of this onslaught, trade’s defenders have run out of ideas. They point out that trade makes nations wealthier; that trade plays a minor role in creating economic inequality when compared with technological innovation; and that domestic policies unconnected to trade rules can more efficiently address economic inequality, and can do so without the need for international obligations that might be construed as limiting national sovereignty in matters of social policy. These views are right as a matter of economics. But politicians make trade rules, not economists. Right or wrong, voters’ belief that liberalizing trade leads to economic inequality creates a political constraint on trade liberalization.This Essay proposes a way to save the political consensus in favor of free trade. In order to preserve and extend the international trade regime and the extraordinary gains it has produced since the end of World War II, the next generation of preferential trade agreements should include international obligations binding on developed countries to address domestic economic inequality. In other words, trade agreements must include obligations to redistribute the gains from trade within countries. This approach differs dramatically from that taken in existing trade agreements. Since the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), trade agreements have tried to protect those who stand to lose from free trade – principally labor interests – by including labor provisions in trade agreements. These provisions are outward-looking, however. They seek to raise labor and environmental standards in developing countries (e.g., Mexico) in order to limit the loss of jobs in developed countries (e.g., the United States). Critics of trade agreements have inadvertently bought into this orientation. They argue for removing investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) from trade agreements. But removing ISDS does nothing to help those suffering economically in developed countries, and it hurts developed countries’ businesses’ when they operate overseas. The removal of ISDS thus would be both a major concession to trade’s critics and yet not one that advances their core objective of ensuring that trade agreements advance economic equality. To be sure, governments do have domestic programs to help those negatively impacted by liberalized trade rules. Trade adjustment assistance (TAA) programs offer financial assistance to those who lose their jobs due to international trade. But recent studies in the United States suggest that TAA is ineffective. Moreover, unlike trade agreements, which are in force indefinitely, TAA expires every few years unless Congress reauthorizes it – a fight each time. To put it bluntly, these approaches have failed. They have failed to staunch the loss of jobs and they have failed to persuade voters in developed countries that international trade is not a primary cause of economic inequality. An “Economic Development” chapter in future preferential trade agreements would commit developed countries to addressing their own economic inequality problems at home. An Economic Development chapter would create international obligations for member states to establish fiscal programs, such as educational and infrastructure spending, designed to boost economic opportunity for those left behind by growing inequality. These spending obligations would be indexed, so that they would rise and fall with the economic losses attributable to trade agreements. If such losses do not occur or taper off, nations’ spending commitments would naturally sunset. These obligations would be enforced through reporting and monitoring requirements, similar to human rights treaties, and dispute settlement provisions that could lead to a loss of market access, the norm in trade agreements. Tying measures designed to address economic inequality directly into trade agreements would create political coalitions in favor of continuing efforts to liberalize trade. Those who do not benefit from trade agreements could still support them as a way to obtain greater domestic benefits. And those who benefit most from the liberalized trade rules could support redistribution as the price of further globalization. Trade agreements would create a commitment device allowing those who gain from trade to commit in advance to provide those who do not with a share of the spoils.

An Assessment of WTO Compliance by the South African Anti-Dumping Regime in Respect of the Determination of Causation

One of the continuing challenges of multilateral trade is having in place laws and practices which enable national authorities to deal with the problem of dumping, and at the same time ensuring that these laws and practices are consistent with the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The WTO was established as an institution that regulates trade among member countries, and which sets rules to guide actions by national authorities against certain activities such as “dumping”, which are against its mantra in favour of open trade relations and breaching protective barriers to trade. South Africa is a founding member of the WTO and is also one of the first 23 contracting parties of the General agreement of trade and tariffs of 1947 (GATT 1947), which over an incremental period of time assumed the dubious position of being both an agreement on trade issues and a de facto international trade institution.

Rights and regulation of travel and tourism mobility

Despite substantial growth in international mobility as a result of technological, economic and political change national borders still constitute a significant barrier for tourism. Although in many countries people may believe that they have an intrinsic right to travel, no such legal rights exist under international law, with the decisions and declarations of the World Tourism Organization only constituting a form of ‘soft’ international law in contrast to ‘hard’ international and domestic law. The paper argues that international migration and trade law, particularly the General Agreement of Trade in Services, are potentially the most significant with respect to the regulation of travel and tourism mobility along with some aspects of supranational law such as consumer rights. As a result the paper emphasises the importance of cognate policy domains, such as trade, migration and the environment, for understanding the regulation of tourism and travel, and their influence on tourism policy.

A Study of the Phenomenon of Medical Tourism within the Context of the General Agreement of Trade in Services (GATS)

Cardiac surgery, for example, costs USD 30,000 in the US but USD 8,000 in India; a bone marrow transplant is USD 250,000 in the US but only USD 69,000 in India; a dental filling is priced at USD 400 in the US but only USD 40 in India – and includes round-trip airfare and a brief vacation package. A knee replacement in Thailand with six days of physical therapy costs about one-fifth of what it would in the United States and further, a Lasik eye surgery worth $3,700 in the U.S. is available in many other countries for only $730.Cosmetic surgery savings are even greater: A full facelift that would cost $20,000 in the U.S. runs about $1,250 in South Africa. Why put up with expensive, run-of-the-mill health care at home when you can be treated just as well abroad? Health care generates some USD 3 trillion per year while, in 2009 alone, tourism accounted for USD 3.3 trillion in the GDP of countries throughout the world. From Greeks visiting Epidaurus to Romans immersing themselves in the healing waters of Bath to 19th century Europeans flocking to spa towns and sanatoria, people have travelled long distances hoping to restore their health for millennia. What is new is that, in spite of the existence of excellent local medical care in their countries of origin, many medical tourists residing in richer countries are simply unable to access what is right next door. The sphere of health care has been transformed by private, for-profit interests, where price and private insurance schemes reign and dictate who has access to treatment, surgery and medication and who does not. This paper attempts to understand the phenomenon of medical tourism and how its character has been radically altered with the advent of globalization and the introduction of the General Agreement in Trade in Services (GATS). It would also include a discussion as to what factors of late have encouraged this trend further especially towards the Asian region. It also aims to look at a few case studies in the Asian region to see how health care tourism has been evolved and growing amidst the backdrop of liberalizing trade environments today.

Competition and co‐operation in the semi‐periphery: closer economic partnership and sectoral transformations in Chile and New Zealand

The signing of a strategic economic partnership (the Trans‐Pacific SEP or P4) between Chile, New Zealand, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam in 2005 reveals the emergence of a new generation of trade agreements that seek to promote longer‐term synergies and cooperation. This is in marked contrast with a purely competitive, market‐based model of agreements whereby economies are opened up to oligopsonistic capital. The orientation is clearly more neostructural and strategic in construction, emphasizing the opportunities within the global economy of improved relations with similarly positioned economies within the semi‐periphery. This article analyses both the basis for and implications of the P4 for Chile and New Zealand by looking at three sectors in which both countries are competitive in export markets: dairy, wine and fisheries. By assessing similarities and differences, and the ways in which competition or co‐operation might be established, the potential impacts of the agreement can be posited. Within a global context of bilateral and multilateral commercial agreements, it is this type of agreement that perhaps best fits the needs of smaller economies in the periphery that seek to establish greater competitive space for their exports in core economies without engaging in a mutually destructive war of competition in similar sectors and products.

Estado do conhecimento sobre internacionalização da educação superior: conceitos e práticas

A partir da década de 90 a internacionalização da educação superior se fortifica no panorama mundial. Corrobora para isto a tendência de categorizar a educação como serviço, regulamentada pela OMC, paralelo ao predomínio da concepção de transnacionalização frente à da soberania do estado-nação. O trabalho objetiva identificar o estado de conhecimento sobre internacionalização universitária, conceitos e práticas (DALE, 2000), neste século, por meio do estudo de banco de dados de periódicos de educação, da Europa e da América do Norte. A metodologia segue os princípios de análise de conteúdo. Foram identificados o crescimento da produção sobre o tema e uma tendência à alteração de foco temático: do conceitual para a prática. A internacionalização da educação superior frente à expansão quase que desordenada do sistema e à complexidade instituída, necessita, urgentemente, de estudos e políticas públicas que freiem a perspectiva mercadológica e contribuam para a qualidade acadêmica social.

Educational liberalization under the AGCS/GATS: Analyzing the current state of negotiations

The aim of this article is to analyze the factors that influence the commercial liberalization of educational services in the General Agreement of Trade in Services (GATS) framework. First at all, we examine closely the negotiation methodology of the Agreement, as well as we check the commitments of the WTO members in the educational sector. On the other hand we analyze the provisional results of the last round of services (GATS2000) which is still being negotiated. The primary data sources are interviews to different delegations of the countries members of the WTO, documents of position of some delegations and documents of analysis of the “Council of Trade in Services” of the WTO.

Research Note: The `Undeclared War' Part II

Since January this year, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been administering the General Agreement of Trade in Services (GATS) multilateral negotiations concerning the liberalization of audiovisual goods and services. Due to the sector's sensitivity, the European Commission's (EC) former Directorate-General X (DGX) (Information, Communication, Culture, Audiovisual Media) launched a consultation phase concerning GATS. This research note considers the competing policy positions concerning markets and culture between the USA and Europe that emerged during this period.

GATT, GATS and the global construction industry

On 15 December 1993, the most ambitious trade liberalisation package in history was concluded, marking the end of multilateral trade negotiations under the aegis of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Among the landmark achievements of that round was the addressing of the services sector for the first time in such a setting. This paper analyses the key provisions of the General Agreement of Trade in Services (GATS) in the context of the construction industry. Despite the fact that GATS is presently a framework which requires further negotiation, there are already certain matters that corporate strategists should be conversant with in preparation for the time when full trade surveillance is imposed on the industry. Specific reference is also made to the Government Procurement Agreement towards the end of this paper because of its galvanising force on future GATS negotiations.

The General Agreement of Trade in Services 1994

The General Agreement of Trade in Services 1994

Economic regionalism in the Asia-Pacific: Macroeconomic core and microeconomic optimization

The concept of economic regionalism has long been known. In its pre-WWII manifestation, it centered on the “colonial” mold. In the post-WWII era came a new economic order, based on the U.S. Dollar—for US$ 35 an ounce of pure gold. The progress to a uni-polar macroeconomic core soon was challenged by the hostilities of the Cold War. The response was “strategic” regionalization among groups of allied nation-states. The U.S. Dollar-based international monetary system eventually collapsed on August 15, 1971. A return to one hundred percent pure gold standard was not what happened and in September 1985, a managed exchange rate regime followed, managed first by the G-5 (Group of Five), then by the G-7. The goal was to coordinate the monetary-fiscal policies of the major trading countries by an ad hoc institutional mechanism. Efforts to make perfectly competitive market work by the politically powerful collaborative efforts of the G-7, or for that matter of any other international economic grouping of 150-plus sovereign nation-state members, such as the General Agreement of Trade and Tariff (GATT), have produced only limited results. An alternative paradigm is the one of economic regionalism— a supra-national macroeconomic core of sovereign nation-state based economies in a naturally well-defined geographical region. The experiments in Western Europe, the 12-member European Community (EC), offers a new paradigm. This article examines the concept of economic regionalism in the context of Asia-Pacific economies, as the institutionalization of 17-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) continues to unfold.

Managing the Decline of the Corporate Sector

MANAGING THE DECLINE OF THE CORPORATE SECTOR ZoltanJ. Acs Two basic approaches have emergedfrom public discussion thus far. One approach is the targeted approach by which government offers incentives and subsidies to certain chosen industries and locations. . . . But political reality suggests that the sunrise industries don't want or need the bureaucratic hand ofgovernment to help them along and government does not have any particular wisdom in selectingfuture winners. . . . In any contest for governmentfunds, the sunset industries, which are usually mature industries with high employment in old established locations, are sure to win. —Reginald H. Jones, 1981 D'uring the postwar period, the industrialized nations were effectively managed along Keynesian lines. The domestic economy was managed with monetary and fiscal policies, and the international system by the International Monetary Fund (imf), which provided adequate liquidity to the system. Trade was regulated by the General Agreement of Trade and Tariffs (gatt) and the Organization for Economic Development (oecd). The decline of the corporate sector of the economy in all advanced industrialized countries has created an urgent need for the management of this decline. In addition to fiscal policy, an industrial policy has been proposed in order to manage this decline in the United States. The essence of the policy is an industrial financing bank modeled on the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, economic planning to direct investment, and protection for declining industries in order to save jobs. Industrial policy, however, cannot be a program for the rebuilding of the American economy: rather it must be a program for the management of the decline of the corporate sector. But most advocates of industrial policy do not realize that the corporate sector cannot be restored to its former glory, and that most of the growth is coming from the competitive Zoltan J. Acs is assistant professor of economics and finance at Manhattan College School of Business. Part of the research for this paper was done while the author was a research associate at the Institute on Western Europe, School of International Affairs, Columbia University. This article is taken from his forthcoming book, The Changing Structure ofthe American Economy: Lessons from the Steel Industry, with a foreword by Charles P. Kindleberger, to be published by Praeger Publishers in 1984. 149 150 SAIS REVIEW Table 1. Manufacturing Employment as a Percentage of Total Employment (Figures in Thousands) Year196519801995* Manufac. employment18,00020,00022,700 Total employment60,675100,000125,000 Manufac/total302017 Source: Economic Report of the President, 1982, p. 275, Table B-37 * The Labor Department assumes a growth of 4 percent a year in labor productivity . If labor productivity grew by 5 percent, manufacturing employment as a percentage of total employment would drop to 15 percent. sector of the economy.1 In short, industrial policy as it is now understood is a prescription for disaster. Between 1965 and 1980 manufacturing employment declined by 33 percent and thousands of plants were closed in the United States (see Table 1). These plant closings have resulted in rising unemployment and hardship in local communities and are part of a process that has come to be known as "deindustrialization." Although very few data are available on this subject, one study on deindustrialization has estimated that between 32 and 38 million manufacturing jobs were lost in the United States owing to massive disinvestment.2 A chief cause of alarm is that this trend could cripple America's manufacturing base and thus prevent the United States from competing successfully in the international economy. This would result in Japan and West Germany becoming the world leaders in manufacturing. If one compares the United States with the other major industrialized countries (Japan, West Germany, and France), the percentage of the labor force employed in manufacturing is higher in those countries. While manufacturing employment as a percentage of total employment declined 33 percent in the United States, in France and West Germany it declined by only 5 percent and has stabilized in Japan. Some advocates of this deindustrialization thesis have argued that America has deindustrialized too rapidly and that this process should be slowed or even halted. The labor unions and Marxist intellectuals are the strongest supporters of this position. Although the percentage of the labor...