International Trade Rules Research Articles

Packaging Framework System Under International Trade Rules

Purpose - The purpose of this study was to expound the packaging framework system(PFS) under international trade rules. Design/methodology/approach - This study analyzed packaging framework system and packaging regulations and technical standards in international regulations and major countries and classified these in some standards Findings - First, the study provides packaging provisions associated with packaging regulations and technical standards (PRTS). Then, the basis of PFS in international trade rules was proposed; it is believed that the PFS was composed of packaging legal system in WTO institutional framework (WTO-PLS), international organization packaging standard system (IO-PSS) and major countries or regions packaging regulatory system (MCR-PRS). Secondly, this paper expounded relations and legal characteristics of the three packaging systems. Finally, This study investigated PRTS coverage under technical barriers to trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (SPS). Research implications or Originality The regulations associated with PRTS have played a key role in challenges to merchandise trade in international trade. This study has significance in classifying packaging related reticulations into several criteria unlike previous studies. Therefore it is hope that this study can provide a supplementary document for the existing research of PRTS.

Carbon Leakage, Consumption, and Trade

We review the state of knowledge concerning international CO2emission transfers associated particularly with trade in energy-intensive goods and concerns about carbon leakage arising from climate policies. The historical increase in aggregate emission transfers from developing to developed countries peaked around 2006 and declined since. Studies find no evidence that climate policies lead to carbon leakage, but this is partly due to shielding of key industrial sectors, which is incompatible with deep decarbonization. Alternative or complementary consumption-based approaches areneeded. Private sector initiatives to trace and address carbon emissions throughout supply chains have grown substantially but cannot compensate for inadequate policy. Three main price-based approaches to tackling carbon leakage are potentially compatible with international trade rules: border adjustments on imports, carbon consumption charges, and climate excise contributions combined with emissions trading. We also consider standards and public procurement options to tackle embodied emissions. Finally, we discuss proposals for carbon clubs involving cooperation among a limited set of countries.

Countering Commodity Trade Mispricing in Low-Income Countries: A Prescriptive Approach

ABSTRACT Commodity trade mispricing, especially the undervaluation of commodity exports, disproportionately harms low-income countries that depend on commodity exports for most of their export earnings. Such countries should (re)consider adopting rule-based pricing methods as a prescriptive alternative to transaction-based valuation systems. This article firmly grounds rule-based pricing in market parameters. It calls for a hybrid form of market-based price regulation in the framework of public–private models of supply chain governance, also integrating advice from independent experts. This article addresses this policy option within the parameters set by international law, considering state regulatory scope under international trade and tax law. It challenges the popular objection that prescriptive pricing methods breach international trade and tax rules. Instead, it emphasizes the complexity of any such legal assessment under international economic law.

A Political Anatomy of China’s Compliance in WTO Disputes

ABSTRACT This article contributes to the ongoing debate over China’s behaviour in the multilateral trading system established by the World Trade Organization (WTO). It offers a systemic review of all completed WTO disputes against China in the past two decades and a critical analysis of four political factors embedded in China’s impressive record of compliance. In doing so, it develops an analytical framework for future studies on China’s approaches to WTO compliance and its interaction with international trade rules more broadly. While China’s trade policy has become more sensitive to the changing external environment, this framework will remain highly relevant to studies of China’s behaviour on trade and other economic matters and ways to engage with the emerging global superpower in the years ahead.

Evolution of the Generalized Scheme of Preferences

Introduction. The revision of the old U.S. rules of assigning developing country status under the law of countervailing duties in 2020 theoretically symbolizes another stage in the evolution of the Generalized Scheme of Preferences, but practically means a new form of battle for international competitiveness. There is no common criterion for determination of developing countries, either at the level of international organizations, including the World Trade Organization, or at the level of donor countries, while the list of least developed countries is determined by the United Nations, and they automatically become recipients of tariff preferences under the Generalized Scheme of Preferences. In this regard, the main idea and purpose of the study is to identify the applied aspects of the development of the international system of GSP and criteria for identifying developing countries to improve the system of tariff preferences EAEU and increase the competitiveness of goods produced in the domestic market. Materials and Methods. The paper reviews established rules within the GSP and features of the functioning of this system in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Britain and such integration groupings as the European Union, Commonwealth of Independent States and EAEU. To identify main aspects of this transformation it has been used the method of cross-country comparison, as well as methods of systematic and comparative analysis of relevant international and national legal acts and scientific papers. Results. We have revealed an international trend that is being formed by the leading economic actors to establish new rules for the functioning of the GSP and the criterion for determining the beneficiary countries. This trend will obviously affect the general rules of international trade within the framework of the World Trade Organization and to some extent will bring changes in its architecture. Discussion and Conclusion. The process of active unilateral revision of established for half a century international trade rules beyond the framework of international organizations gives to the problem a new systemic character and opens up an opportunity for future studies. It is obvious that we are on the beginning of entire international economic relations system transformation, which at the first stage will be accompanied by negative processes and will require an adequate response from the Russian state authorities, coordinating bodies of the EAEU and interested major economic agents.

АНАЛИЗ ПРИМЕНЕНИЯ МЕЖДУНАРОДНЫХ ПРАВИЛ ТОРГОВЛИ «ИНКОТЕРМС» С ЦЕЛЬЮ СНИЖЕНИЯ РИСКОВ ДЛЯ РОССИЙСКОГО ПОКУПАТЕЛЯ В РЕАЛЬНЫХ УСЛОВИЯХ

In the course of the analysis of the application of international trade rules, it was found that, despite the rather large number of groups and conditions for the delivery of goods from the seller to the buyer, in a changing world, it is necessary to choose the safest conditions for the buyer correctly

New Vectors of WTO Law Development and Certain Issues of Application of the Subsidy Instrument

The multilateral system of trade regulation is the most complex institution of international law. Over the past three decades, the members of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade have managed to form not only the format of negotiations — the World Trade Organization, but also the rules and regulations for doing business in the world market, including the rules for granting subsidies. However, the further development of the organization is undergoing a crisis. The equilibrium application of international trade rules is now impossible due to the current situation: some developing countries, which at the time of joining the WTO recorded a large number of exemptions and transition periods, have grown economically and can now compete on an equal footing with developed countries. On the other hand, it is impossible to talk about any violations, since these exemptions were “agreed”. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the WTO, although it uses the concepts of “developing, developed and least developed countries”, does not have its own classification of countries according to economic development and cannot respond to changes in their development. The questions posed by the last round of multilateral trade negotiations (the Doha round) have already begun to affect such areas of regulation in which the equalization of the norms and rules of trade between developing countries and developed countries affects not only the economic but also the social sphere. In addition, a deeper level of typification of trade regulation rules affects the mechanisms of interaction that go beyond the activities of such an international organization as the WTO and are inherent in integration associations. Nevertheless, active WTO members have put forward initiatives to change the rules for issuing subsidies, aimed at tightening them and even deeper unification of national jurisdictions with standard international approaches to regulating state support.

Does international trade and investment liberalization facilitate corporate power in nutrition and alcohol policymaking? Applying an integrated political economy and power analysis approach to a case study of South Africa

BackgroundWhile there is a growing body of legally-focused analyses exploring the potential restrictions on public health policy space due to international trade rules, few studies have adopted a more politically-informed approach. This paper applies an integrated political economy and power analysis approach to understand how power relations and dynamics emerging as a result of the international trade and investment regime influence nutrition and alcohol regulatory development in a case study of South Africa.MethodsWe interviewed 36 key stakeholders involved in nutrition, alcohol and/or trade/investment policymaking in South Africa. Interview transcripts and notes were imported into NVivo and analyzed using thematic analysis. We used a conceptual framework for analyzing power in health policymaking to guide the analysis.ResultsUnder the neoliberal paradigm that promotes trade liberalization and market extension, corporate power in nutrition and alcohol policymaking has been entrenched in South Africa via various mechanisms. These include via close relationships between economic policymakers and industry; institutional structures that codify industry involvement in all policy development but restrict health input in economic and trade policy decisions; limited stakeholder knowledge of the broader linkages between trade/investment and food/alcohol environments; high evidentiary requirements to prove public health policy effectiveness; both deliberate use of neoliberal frames/narratives as well as processes of socialization and internalization of neoliberal ideas/values shaping perceptions and policy preferences and ultimately generating policy norms prioritizing economic/trade over health objectives.ConclusionsExposing power in policymaking can expand our own ideational boundaries of what is required to promote transformative policy change. This work points to a number of potential strategies for challenging corporate power in nutrition and alcohol policymaking in the context of international trade and investment liberalization in South Africa.

Trade and Environment: Can International Trading Rules Help?

Trade and Environment: Can International Trading Rules Help?

Buy national campaigns promotionin the EU and EAEU countries

It is determined in the article that the promotion of the “Buy National” policy is of a protectionist nature and often may not comply with international trade rules, including within the framework of integration associations. It was determined that this approach of the states participating in integration associations (the EAEU is no exception) is a certain brake on the development of integration processes. As a result of the analysis of studies on this issue, it was revealed that consumers in certain countries support the policy “Buy national, but their purchasing habits are not fundamentally changed. The study analyzes individual ways of using the Buy National campaigns in the countries of the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union and shows that countries are actively using this policy, explaining these measures by supporting the national economy, but such actions threaten the development of integration. Based on the results obtained, possible recommendations for cooperation of the EAEU member states have been developed for an equal representation of goods from the five countries in retail facilities. In particular, it was proposed to develop and adopt a model code of good practices for retail chains as norms of "soft" law, enshrining in it the principle of non-discrimination towards goods from the EAEU member states.

How green primary iron production in South Africa could help global decarbonization

ABSTRACT The production of iron and steel is one of the largest global sources of industrial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. South Africa (SA) could competitively export near-zero embodied GHG primary iron to steelmakers in leading decarbonizing markets. A green primary iron production process substitutes hydrogen for coke as the iron ore reductant. A SA plant would enjoy most of its competitive cost advantage from hydrogen produced using very low-cost solar photovoltaic electricity. In import markets, using the European Union (EU) as an example, steelmakers could use imported green primary iron to increase utilization of electric arc furnaces while reducing total EU demand for clean electricity (i.e. for hydrogen for reduction needs) and thereby lower total system costs of decarbonization. SA could bolster crucial export and tax revenues while moving towards a broader transition to a sustainable industry. Three things are needed to unlock new global business models involving the relocating of green primary iron production to regions with abundant renewable energy: (1) a steelmaker with access to a hydrogen reduction technology appropriate for SA’s ores willing and able to invest in a plant; (2) access to a bankable lead market for that plant’s production; and (3) international trade rules and emissions accounting related to the carbon content of commodities that enable the reconfiguration of supply chains to reduce global decarbonization costs. Key policy insights Green primary iron production in SA could increase value added from local iron ore and solar energy resources, bolster exports and initiate transformation to a sustainable industry. Green primary iron imports from SA to the EU could reduce the cost of overall decarbonization while increasing the competitiveness of steel product manufacturing. Enabling conditions include a willing steelmaker, fair access to the EU iron market, enabling trade rules, and embodied emissions certification and accounting. Green primary iron imports can reduce demands on EU low carbon electricity supply, lowering electricity prices and increasing energy security. The collaboration envisioned between the EU and SA could help develop the framework for future inter-regional decarbonization strategies for other commodities and other countries.

Changing Paradigms in US and EU Supply Chains: Focusing on Sustainability Issues

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chains have become important policy tools to ensure the security and resilience of regional trading blocs of major economies. The US government’s focus on supply chains for selected strategic industries and the EU Commission’s renewed efforts to strengthen its supply chains using ‘sustainability standards’ coincides with the global trend in the shift towards digital and low-carbon economies. Furthermore, the rising tensions between the US and China, with no signs of reconciliation over key issues of contention, have emphasized the need for more credibility and trust in global supply chains. However, such policies also have the potential to serve as new barriers to participation in supply chains by less-developed economies which are not yet prepared to meet the high-level sustainability criteria which aim for higher protection of the environment and labor rights. There also seems to be an apparent shift in paradigm supporting the interventionist role of government that emphasize the need for more discretion for policy objectives that pursue societal and democratic values, not to mention national security interests. The current rules of international trade, however, do not sufficiently address these new issues and need to be realigned in order to meet the new demands. The current ‘rules of the game’ need to be reinforced in order to accommodate the rising need of countries for increased consideration of issues of sustainability and competitiveness.

Research on the Impact of "Competitive Neutrality" Rules on Chinese State-owned Enterprises

"Competitive neutrality" rules are becoming the focus of attention of the new generation of international economic and trade rules. "Competitive neutrality" rules hinder state-owned enterprises from opening up international markets. It also will weaken the domestic competitive advantage of state-owned enterprises, and the public service capabilities of state-owned enterprises. Therefore, China needs to implement state-owned enterprise reforms to better respond to this trend.

Pitfalls of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism

The European Union (EU), which has led international discussions on global warming, officially announced its plan for the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in July 2021. Many existing studies have indicated the CBAM will curtail greenhouse gases, and will subsequently be positive in terms of reducing global warming. However, serious legal issues and trade disputes are expected in terms of the compatibility of the CBAM with the trade rules of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Contrary to the EU’s explanation, the international community has a strong view of CBAM as a new trade barrier under the guise of preventing global warming. Above all, this is because it is an arbitrary measure by the EU and not the one that has been internationally agreed upon. Therefore, this paper tries to identify the pitfalls and estimate the global cost of CBAM, arguing that the mechanism is not in line with international trade rules, and that many countries will not sit back and suffer from it. The world economy will inevitably face a vicious cycle of trade retaliation. The CBAM will drive up trade costs and cause another trade distortion. While the goal of preventing climate change is good, the CBAM scheme is too costly for the world economy.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEGATIVE LIST REGULATION FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN CHINA

The promotion of the negative list management model represents an innovative trend of the host state to further relax investment access as well as foreign investment control in order to promote transnational foreign direct investment flow. Since the relatively strict investment control system has existed for a long time, the negative list model is undoubtedly a major institutional and management innovation of opening-up. In the future, the negative list management model would be gradually adopted and promoted by contracting states with the conclusion of regional investment agreements, and become the representative achievement of high-level regional and even international investment rules. The involvement would also gradually transit from developed economies to developing economies. Negative list would become a necessary part in the formation and negotiation of international economic and trade rules in the future, and promotion of negative list will also become an important trend in the development of international investment rules.

Disparity to Parity to Solidarity: Balancing the Scales of International Agricultural Policy for Justice and Viability.

Resetting international agricultural governance requires a collective commitment to changing the economic rules of production. This article reports on the challenging questions raised by the Disparity to Parity project, led by a group of farmer-activists, farmer organizations, and scholar-activists in the US. How can parity policies be updated, expanded, redesigned with and for Black, Indigenous, immigrant, cooperative, female and gender diverse farmers and would-be farmers? How does the parity movement join in global solidarity to reset the international agricultural economic and trade rules to reverse the globalization of agriculture that dumps surplus and undermines food sovereignty?

The Internal Relationship and Strategic Docking Between China's Free Trade Zone Services and the "Belt and Road Initiative"

<p>In the context of the continuous deepening of the global economy and the adjustment and reconstruction of international economic and trade rules, China has proposed the development model of the "Belt and Road". The current development of China's "Belt and Road" and free trade zone services are all for better economic development. The strategies proposed are all new explorations of China's economic development in the new period of reform and opening up. China’s free trade zone serves as the economic foundation of the “Belt and Road”, and the “Belt and Road” construction is an extension of the economic development of the free trade zone. The scope of the “Belt and Road” is to strengthen economic cooperation and enhance the economic closeness with other regions, to a certain extent, the promotion of the "Belt and Road" can improve China's status and influence in the international status. Both the "Belt and Road" initiative and the establishment of China's free trade zone hope to realize the freedom of economic and trade activities and promote economic development in a good environment. The two strategies of the free trade zone and the “Belt and Road” strategy have continued to integrate, innovate and develop in terms of cultural exchanges, economic cooperation, and institutional learning. In order to make China's free trade zone and the "Belt and Road" have a deeper development, China still needs to go all out to optimize the construction of related systems in the future. Constantly optimizing the love makes it possible to achieve better results in both the free trade zone and the "Belt and Road", because the two promote the sound development of China's economy in order to provide the country's long-term development strategy with an economic financial foundation.</p>

The Belt and Road Initiative and International Law: Viewed from the Perspective of the Supply of International Public Goods

The international community is facing the dilemma of an insufficient supply of public goods due to the conjunction of various forces and factors including the profound impact of the economic crisis, increased trade protectionism, changes in the global governance system and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a non-rivalrous and non-excludable public good provided to the international community by China as a responsible major country in the new era of historical development. International law has an important role in promoting and guaranteeing the supply of international public goods (IPGs). Since the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, the international governance environment has changed dramatically, with the rule of law being the basic premise and important guarantee of the long-term and smooth implementation of the BRI. In pursuing the BRI, buttressed as it is by the rule of law, China should pay attention to diversified governance based on a combination of international soft and hard law and make judicious use of existing bilateral, regional and multilateral international legal mechanisms. In addition, China must also pay close attention to the latest developments in international economic and trade rules and must innovate and improve its ability to supply rules for investment, trade liberalization, etc. Buttressed by international law, the BRI should focus not only on recent concrete initiatives in trade and investment liberalization, but also on the long-term planning and sustainable development of institutional supply, so as to realize the vision and goals of the BRI.

WTO accession and firm exports in developing economies

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has a significant impact on international business activities due to its actions and decisions that set the rules of international trade. However, our understanding of how WTO affects firm behavior is limited. Taking advantage of the variations in entry dates to the World Trade Organization, we perform difference-in-differences estimation to examine whether a country’s accession to the WTO significantly increases firms’ export intensity. In addition, we apply insights from the threat-rigidity hypothesis to argue that firms’ reactions to supranational institutions vary depending on how managers perceive the institutional environment. We find that firms from countries that enter the WTO experience significantly higher growth in export intensity when their managers have positive perceptions about domestic institutions. In contrast, accession to the WTO does not significantly increase firms’ export intensity whose managers perceive domestic institutions as obstacles. Our findings suggest that supranational institutions, such as the WTO, play an important role in the strategic decisions that firms make. However, the full value of such institutions can only be realized if the managers are aware and positively disposed to engage with these institutions.

Is the rules-based multilateral trade order in decline? Current practices, trends and their impact

Since its establishment, the World Trade Organization has suffered numerous blows. Today, however, it is going through a perfect storm: from a paralysis in its lawmaking function to the demise of the Appellate Body. Powerful economies such as the United States, China and the European Union are moving away from multilateralism, in different ways, in order to shape novel approaches. Non-transparent practices like informal trade instruments, geoeconomics, and the domestication of international trade rules are appearing as new tools of global economic governance. How to make sense of these practices and approaches from a legal perspective? The common thread in all these factors is the relative decline of the rule of law. This article explores and critically assesses these developments and calls for urgent action in order to remedy and strengthen the multilateral rules-based trade order.