Protectionist Tendencies Research Articles

MULTIPARTY INTERIM APPEAL ARBITRATION (MPIA) AND ITS IMPORTANCE FOR THE REFORM OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

Since 2016, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has 164 members representing over 98% of world trade. One of the main achievements of the WTO is considered to be the strengthening of the dispute settlement system, which has effectively countered the intensification of protectionist tendencies in the global economy. However, the paralysis of the Appellate Body has deprived the world trading system of an enforceable dispute settlement mechanism. To address this difficult situation, an alternative mechanism, called the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA), has been set up at the initiative of the EU, which, in the face of the paralysis of the central appeals body, provides a binding, two-stage and independent adjudication process. From the analysis carried out in the study, it can be concluded that the MPIA is an important tool for stabilizing the WTO dispute settlement system, and due to its potential to bring about changes in this system, the MPIA can serve as an initiator of reforms in one of the key areas of the organization’s operations. To achieve the objectives of the study, the analytical and descriptive method, as well as the case study method, were mainly used. The considerations were based primarily on source materials and scientific studies, as well as data from WTO resources.

Does Digitalization Reshape the Principle of Non-Intervention?

AbstractWhile digitalization has led to renewed attention to the principle of non-intervention, not the least by Western states rediscovering the protective dimension of sovereignty, it remains plagued by a certain vagueness. Attempts by academics to fill the gaps lead to starkly different results, ranging from the insertion of democratic values to the inadvertent reinforcement of protectionist tendencies. Overall, digitalization has so far had less of an effect on the principle of non-intervention than its renewed importance may have on the type of international law more generally.

Industrial policy and interaction with allies: main priorities and weaknesses of “Bidenomics”

The economic policy of the Biden administration has a significant impact both on the American manufacturing sector and high-tech industries, as well as on foreign economic activity and relations with partner countries. Now these relations are changing, since against the backdrop of growing protectionist tendencies, government agencies and enterprises are forced to adapt to new conditions.

Cross-Border Trade Policies and Sustainable Economic Development in Nigeria: A Critique

The creation of artificial boundaries by colonialist generates desire for cross-border trade as potential instrument for economic integration and development in West Africa. There appears, however, contradictions in states’ policies in Africa which tend to overlook the inviolable boundaries compelling the need for economic interaction across the border for economic development. Paradoxically, neighboring states in Africa, more often than not, capitalize on the trade differences along the border to restrict economic interaction rather than promoting it. Nigeria has recently found itself in the dilemma of either outright trade protection for her economy or liberalizing its trade in the midst of smuggling-induced neighboring countries. Consequently on August 19,2019 President Muhammadu Buhari closed Nigeria's borders with Benin and Niger, declaring that the time had come to end rampant smuggling from those countries. This paper offers a critique of Nigeria’s Border trade policies over the years. The paper intends to challenge the predominant protectionist tendencies among the policy makers in the country. It argued that policy makers in Nigeria should first take measures to refurbish our national economy and then engage all the stakeholders in regional decision making and implementation mechanisms for proper regional trade policies. This will go a long way in providing a framework for intra-regional trade so that the regional environment will encourage more of Nigeria’s trade with its ECOWAS neighbours vis-à-vis sustainable economic growth in the region. If ECOWAS is to succeed in achieving sustainable development in the region, then Nigeria will be the biggest beneficiary; hence, her need to sacrifice more.

ДИВЕРСИФИКАЦИЯ РОССИЙСКОГО ЭКСПОРТА: РЕГИОНАЛЬНЫЙ АСПЕКТ

The task of overcoming the country’s raw material specialization in international trade is the most important in the current economic situation. For a long time, Russia’s place and role in the world market were determined by the export of energy resources. The deterioration of the situation in the fuel and raw materials markets in recent years, associated with unfavorable price dynamics, the introduction of new principles of energy consumption in Europe and the world, quantitative restrictions on the import of Russian products emphasize the urgency of reforming the export structure of foreign trade of the Russian Federation and increasing the importance of non-primary non-energy exports in it. At the same time, the growth of exports of domestic nonprimary goods to world markets is significantly constrained by the intensification of competition and the strengthening of protectionist tendencies. In these conditions, the policy of the state in the field of support of national exporters in order to ensure the competitiveness of their products is of no small importance. Export promotion services from the state are widely used in world practice, national integrated systems are being formed to assist exporters at all stages of the implementation of transactions. The article offers an analysis of the main directions of the Russian state policy aimed at increasing the share of processed products in the foreign trade of the Russian Federation. The author characterizes the commodity groups that form the basis of the country’s non-energy exports and its regional specifics. The largest partner countries of the Russian Federation in the trade of non-primary goods have been identified. The prospects and directions of development of Russian non-resource exports are analyzed.

EU — China comprehensive investment agreement: Problems of conclusion and search for the balance of interests

This article is a deep analysis of the Agreement between such major partners as the European Union and China, which is fundamentally new for the current stage of international investment cooperation. The need in such arrangement is due to the stagnation of the world economy, the strengthening of protectionist tendencies, the crisis of the multilateral trading system and the strengthening of China’s position, which makes this market more and more attractive,but requires ensuring transparent investment rules and strengthening the regulatory component. The study is the first publication devoted to the analysis of the course and results of the negotiation process, the authors concluded that the ability to ensure the protection of their investors in the market of the partner’s country is the main factor in choosing a market for investment. The authors argue that the intensification of bilateral cooperation between the EU and China has become the most important argument for initiating negotiations on a new agreement and striving to achieve a balance of interests, which determines the appropriate course of negotiations. The aim of the article was to analyze the basic provisions of the investment agreement of the new format, on the basis of which the authors assessed the readiness of the PRC and the EU to provide expanded access to foreign players, as well as identify the main problems in terms of the current regulatory investment regimes and the possibility of achieving a balance of interests of the largest trading partners. The research methodology is based on a qualitative analysis of the content of individual articles and provisions, as well as a quantitative analysis using a general equilibrium model on the example of the automotive industry, as one of the largest and most complex sectors. The author’s assessment of the effect of the Agreement makes it possible to update the conclusions about the advisability of forming agreements of this format in order to achieve mutually beneficial access to each other’s markets, as well as for third countries. This experience can be used when signing investment agreements between other countries.

Disruptions in global value chains due to COVID-19: stylized facts and policy lessons

This paper provides an early assessment of global value chains (GVCs) amid the disruptive effects of COVID-19 on world trade. Using the Asian Development Bank’s updated Multiregional Input-Output Table, key indicators were estimated to identify important stylized facts about the contraction of GVC activities in 2020. Econometric models were also estimated to analyze the disruptive effect of COVID-19 outbreaks and stringent containment measures on GVC trade. The input-output analysis confirms that all major economic sectors suffered large losses, especially services. However, the bulk of the decline in overall GVC trade can still be traced to lower backward transactions in manufacturing. On the aggregate level, stronger backward GVC participation was associated with relatively milder contraction while the opposite was observed for forward participation. The regressions showed that positive growth of GVC trade was less likely in sectors with relatively larger exposure to foreign downstream shocks. Further, the combined effects of stringent containment measures and severe COVID-19 outbreaks also reduced the probability of growth in both backward and forward GVC transactions. These findings indicate that on top of foreign suppliers’ internal disruptions (foreign supply shock), weak global consumption (foreign demand shock) and local producers’ domestic sourcing problems (local supply shock) contributed to the steep contraction of GVCs in 2020. Against this background, the major challenges to robust recovery were also identified. These include the downside risks of a prolonged pandemic, the resurgence of protectionist tendencies, the strength of global demand, the reconfiguration of broken supply chains, and the ability of countries to coordinate their actions especially with respect to vaccination.

Brief Synopses of New Arabic-Language Publications

Brief Synopses of New Arabic-Language Publications

Competition Law as an Instrument of Protectionist Policy: Comparative Analysis of the EU and the US

Today, there is a growing fear of resurfacing protectionism, from United States’ trade-war with China, to UK’s Brexit, to the less known trade-restricting measures adopted by countries globally. The General Agreement on Trade &amp; Tariff (GATT), superseded by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) since 1995, rendered the classic forms of protectionism such as tariffs obsolete. However, it did not defeat protectionism; instead, protectionism has evolved through its protean capacity to adapt into new and often undetectable forms, now labelled as ‘murky’ protectionism (e.g. competition law enforcement and the recent bailout packages). It is argued that there are two ways in which States can utilise competition law to impair free-trade and restrict foreign firms’ access to domestic markets: the exemption of certain anticompetitive conduct under national competition law and the strategic application of domestic competition law. This article considers competition law as an instrument of protectionist policy with comparative analysis of the US and the European Union. Using an international political economy (IPE) perspective underpinned by overlapping theories of (legal/political) realism, this article establishes that, while no direct robust empirical evidence of protectionist motivations on competition law enforcement exists, particularly on ‘<em>merger regulation and export cartel exemptions</em>’, the presence of political elements on the decision-making, the wide discretion granted to competition authorities and the ‘sponge’ nature of competition law present an opportunity for the use of competition law for protectionist tendencies.

Modern global challenges and trends: diagnostics of impact on the region’s endogenous development

Different approaches to the interpretation of the definition of “globalization” and assessments of its impact on the endogenous development of the state and regions are considered. The paper argues that global trends have a decisive influence on the economy and the potential of endogenous development of the regions of Ukraine in view of: strengthened polycentricity of spatial development; expansion of protectionist tendencies and global asymmetry; reduced level of functionality of international institutions; the beginning of regionalization of virtual networks. Based on the analysis of domestic and foreign scientific literature and analytical materials, the main modern globalization challenges and trends are revealed - strengthening the interdependence of the world’s economies; strengthening economic protectionism; growth of external debts of the world; growing inequality in income distribution, widening the gap between rich and poor countries; urbanization, metropolization; political, ideological, and military challenges, etc. The main areas of influence of these megatrends in the context of endogenous development of the region are named - the resistance of the region’s economy to cyclical global fluctuations and risks; the region’s involvement in global value chains; intellectualization of labor, human potential, knowledge economy, and creative economy; cohesion of spatial socio-economic development; cybersecurity of the region’s economy; virtualization of socio-political relations; digitalization; migration and tourist flows, etc. The paper proves that the impact of current global challenges and trends on the endogenous development of the region is multidirectional. Thus, some trends may pose risks and threats to the endogenous development of the region (i.e. cause deterioration of its socio-economic status), and others - may still have positive or neutral results despite the creation of certain threats to the security of the region.

Russia and WTO: interaction and security issues

Globalization as a process of expanding the interaction and mutual influence of countries and peoples, intensifying connections, and relationships between communities, manifests itself in the integration of international trade and investment activities. The influential international organization, the WTO, plays a very significant role in facilitating the freer movement of goods and services, capital and labor, which contributes to the weakening of protectionist tendencies. This makes it necessary to study the problem of interaction and security for the WTO member countries. The purpose of the study is to identify the advantages, possible risks, and scenarios for the Russian economy development in the context of Russia’s presence in the WTO. The methodological basis for the study of the interaction and security issues during Russia’s accession to the WTO was a set of general scientific and specific scientific methods – logical, concrete-historical, comparative, analysis method. The specificity of the research subject determined the use of conceptual and systematic approaches. Research result: the WTO problem zones have been identified, the elimination of which will ensure more effective regulation of foreign trade relations in the world market; competitive advantages, risks and expected consequences related to Russia’s obligations upon accession to the WTO in the sphere of economy, finance, taxation and customs relations are identified and analyzed; the sphere of integration relations in the post-Soviet space; the sphere of ensuring the country’s defense capability; the sphere of access and use of natural resources; scenarios of situation development for Russia in connection with the accession to the WTO are considered – catastrophic, optimistic and realistic; it is found that monitoring and rapid response to the current situation in the Russian economy will determine a more effective economic trajectory

Deglobalization and the “Great Stagnation”

ABSTRACT Modern capitalism is going through a crisis of globalization. The activity of world trade and capital flows is decreasing, protectionist tendencies are growing, countries confront each other in currency wars and sanctions regimes. This originated from the extensive nature of the capitalist development of the latest decades through subordinating the non-capitalist periphery, its markets and sources of natural resources, using low-cost labor. It intensified the contradictions of the economic development of both the core and the periphery of the world economy: growing inequality, financialization, unemployment, slowdown in scientific progress and caused the long lasting “great stagnation,” which can be identified by the lower growth rate of the world GDP after 2008.

WTO \u2014 die H\xfcterin des Welthandels in der Krise

The World Trade Organization (WTO), with its tasks of dismantling trade barriers, liberalising international trade and settling trade disputes, has been badly hit. The organisation's 25-year history has led to countries with varying degrees of success despite identical rules. The emerging and industrialised countries who have shown ever stronger protectionist tendencies since the fi nancial crisis of 2008 are among the winners. The Corona crisis has exacerbated these tendencies. Multilateral agreements are becoming more meaningful. It is important for Europe to reduce its structural weaknesses and strengthen its negotiating position vis-a-vis China and the USA.

Multilaterale Abkommen: Enthusiasmus und Entt\xe4uschung

The World Trade Organization (WTO), with its tasks of dismantling trade barriers, liberalising international trade and settling trade disputes, has been badly hit. The organisation's 25-year history has led to countries with varying degrees of success despite identical rules. The emerging and industrialised countries who have shown ever stronger protectionist tendencies since the fi nancial crisis of 2008 are among the winners. The Corona crisis has exacerbated these tendencies. Multilateral agreements are becoming more meaningful. It is important for Europe to reduce its structural weaknesses and strengthen its negotiating position vis-a-vis China and the USA.

Welthandel post Coronam

The World Trade Organization (WTO), with its tasks of dismantling trade barriers, liberalising international trade and settling trade disputes, has been badly hit. The organisation's 25-year history has led to countries with varying degrees of success despite identical rules. The emerging and industrialised countries who have shown ever stronger protectionist tendencies since the fi nancial crisis of 2008 are among the winners. The Corona crisis has exacerbated these tendencies. Multilateral agreements are becoming more meaningful. It is important for Europe to reduce its structural weaknesses and strengthen its negotiating position vis-a-vis China and the USA.

Trump's Trade War: An Indian Perspective

This paper examines the implications of the Trump Administration's U.S. trade policy on U.S.–India relations and the Indian economy against the backdrop of strengthening political and strategic ties between the two countries, which have been strong since the beginning of this century. Trump's strategy of using tariffs as the bargaining chip in bilateral economic relations with India, while ignoring mutual geopolitical interests, has coincided with new protectionist tendencies in India under the Make in India strategy of the Modi government, setting the stage for a protracted bilateral trade dispute. U.S. safeguard duties on steel and aluminium have taken a toll on India's exports of these products to the United States, but these products account for a tiny share of India's total exports to the United States. The hard hit was Trump's termination of India's designation as a beneficiary developing nation under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). The GSP abolition is likely to have a much more significant effect on the Indian economy as exports under the program are heavily concentrated in the traditional labor-intensive industries. However, given the handsome mandate received by the Modi government at the May 2019 election and that the next election is four years away (2024), GSP abolition is unlikely to receive much weight in determining India's position in trade negotiations compared with the new protectionist policy stance stemming from the Make in India strategy. The WTO verdict on the U.S. complaint on India's manufacturing export subsidies, if upheld by the WTO Appellate body, would strengthen the U.S. position in negotiating a trade deal with India.

Protecting or investing in history? Italian historical trade marks and expropriation under international investment law

!!...!!International economic protectionism is on the rise. The tip of this looming iceberg is the glaring trade and technological conflict between the US and China.1 However, the protectionist phenomenon is pervasive and it is manifested globally. A sizable share of international trade has been afflicted by trade distortions.2 Institutionally, the international economic system has been shaken as well. The bedrock organization of international trade, the World Trade Organization (WTO), has been facing severe operational difficulties, threatening its existence.3 Moreover, public advocacy for trade openness has dropped, further contributing to the wave of protectionist tendencies.4 and it is not solely trade that has been affected. Steps have been taken towards reversing liberalization in the international investment system, albeit to a more subtle degree. Some states have withdrawn from international investment agreements, thereby curtailing their participation in international investment law (IIL).5 The EU, hailed as the flagship of successful economic liberalism, is likewise in the process of tightening its foreign investment policy, primarily driven by its internal ‘essential interests’ and security concerns.6 Some of its Member States are following suit.

Obchodně-politické překážky vývozu zboží z Evropské unie do USA: význam liberalizace obchodních toků

The paper deals with effects of trade liberalization of EU goods exports to the USA. Despite the current protectionist tendencies of US President Donald Trump, the USA is strongly motivated to promote a deeper trade liberalization in the longer horizon, further strengthening bilateral trade flows, increasing economic efficiency, and thus contributing to the growth of both economies. The primary objective is to evaluate a hypothesis which states that reducing political trade barriers could notably increase the flows. We use gravity models and our own constructed non-tariff trade barrier time series based on tens of thousands of values for EU-28 countries in relation to the USA between 1995&#8211;2014. The data are obtained from an analysis of US legislature, in contrast to previous studies which used subjective survey data. The secondary goal is to assess whether a substantial reduction of non-tariff barriers is realistic or not, an issue which other researchers have overlooked. The level of bilateral non-tariff barriers imposed by the USA against EU exporters is rather low in the international comparison, a substantial reduction is not a reasonable assumption. We conclude that dealing with non-tariff trade barriers is crucial as it can substantially increase the bilateral trade flows. Even a less optimistic scenario, with a smaller decrease in trade barriers, suggests that the EU goods exports to the USA could be increased by more than 20%.

BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE: A FRAMEWORK TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES AND UNLOCK POTENTIAL FOR HIGH-QUALITY AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH

Developing economies, especially emerging market economies (EMEs), face complex challenges in investing for growth, including building infrastructure. Many developing economies are trying to sustain the growth catch-up process, and manage disruptions related to transition to the “new economy”, as well as headwinds from protectionist tendencies in trade and technology. Investing for the long term — including in infrastructure — has therefore become a critical issue. In this context, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has captured the imagination of the world. An ambitious initiative involving more than 70 countries collaborating through investments in infrastructure, it seeks to improve connectivity for cross-border trade and investment, and generate economic benefits for the countries involved. It seeks to address large infrastructure gaps and build capacities for growth. And it helps countries unable to get affordable financing for plugging savings-investment shortfalls. However, the BRI has drawn criticisms over China’s underlying geopolitical motives, and BRI partner countries have been warned of the risk of becoming heavily indebted or getting locked into business platforms created by China. This paper aims to contribute to the policy debate over the BRI from an ASEAN perspective. It analyzes the reasons for the persistent infrastructure investment gaps in EMEs from an ASEAN perspective; assesses whether BRI is more of a development opportunity or a debt trap; outlines a framework to address the risks and concerns in order to unlock the potential benefits; and uses case studies both outside of and within the ASEAN region to distil key themes needing policy attention.

Canada First vs. America First: Economic Nationalism and the Evolution of Canada-U.S. Trade Relations

Extract ----- Abstract Even though the nationalist policies of the current U.S. administration have taken the appearance of a radical shift away from the (neo)liberal approaches of preceding governments, they in fact represent the latest protectionist manifestation of the American system of industrial development and trade, characterised by economic nationalism since the Civil War of 1861-1865 and beyond. Recent trade disputes between the U.S. and Canada, from this perspective, have to be construed in light of a century and a half long evolution of trade relations between the two countries, profoundly marked by the mutations of American economic nationalism. Yet, Canada itself was never immune to protectionist tendencies. In fact, Canada was for a long time during the 20th century more protectionist than the U.S., and many of its own nationalist trade policies from the 1860s onward had significant effects on commercial relationships with the latter. The main objective of this article is therefore that of contextualisation: it paints a picture of the evolution of Canada-U.S. trade policies and relationships which brings “economic nationalism” back in. Its main argument is that these relationships have been characterised by a constant tension between liberalisation and protection, to which Canadian governments have contributed in many ways. Keywords: Canada, United States, Economic Nationalism, Trade, Protectionism, Liberalisation