Trade Legislation Research Articles

The Problem of Revising of US Trade and Credit Legislation and Issues of Technology Transfer in Soviet-American Relations in the Second Half of 1970s

The Problem of Revising of US Trade and Credit Legislation and Issues of Technology Transfer in Soviet-American Relations in the Second Half of 1970s

ТИПЫ БЕЗРАБОТИЦЫ И ИХ ВЛИЯНИЕ НА ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКУЮ СТАБИЛЬНОСТЬ

The article discusses various theoretical approaches to explaining the causes of unemployment. In particular, the classic explanation is described, according to which high wages can lead to unemployment. A Marxist explanation based on the dynamics of capital development is also considered. The article also touches on the temporary causes of unemployment and the impact of trade union activities and legislation on the unemployment rate.

The Classification of Digital Products in Digital Trade Rules Under the WTO

The negotiation of WTO digital trade rules has been restarted as states have accelerated the promotion of digital trade legislation in recent years. The classification of digital products as “services” or “goods” will affect how GATT and GATS rules are applied. The existing digital trade rules and WTO rules do not clearly define digital trade product classification. Digital products have both the characteristics of “goods” and “services,” and special consideration should be given to the special characteristics and the impact on member states, particularly on the application of tariff exemption and non-discriminatory treatment, in order to take a more flexible approach to dealing with WTO digital trade negotiations.

Research in the Challenges Faced by Chinese Foreign Trade and Its Revelation

Over the past few years, a series of emergencies have again revived trade protectionism around the world, these events imposed huge problems and difficulties to global trade, which also negatively affected Chinas foreign trade market and related domestic industrial chains. Among them, the existence of green trade barriers and other non-tariff barriers not only increases the number of trade frictions but also puts forward higher technical and capital requirements for commodity processing. While the trend of trade protectionism also continues to influence the policies of some countries, adopting isolationism in Chinas foreign trade environment. Based on this situation, China should actively introduce professionals in various fields and try to promote the development of technology. Meanwhile, the government should also protect the rights of relevant parties or individuals through legal means by providing consultancy, perfecting trade legislation, and to encourage multi-party negotiation to better cope with various challenges in the field of foreign trade.

Debate around U.S. Foreign Trade Legislation as an Element of Détente in Soviet-American Relations (1969–1979)

Détente in Soviet-American relations throughout the 1970s was a complex and multifaceted process. The interaction of the two states as regards foreign trade, technology transfer and scientific exchanges was an important part of it. On the one hand, according to some détente ideologists, a critical mass of commercial ties along with scientific and technological projects established in accordance with the tenets of equality and mutual benefit could have created conditions for overcoming the Cold War and maintaining peaceful coexistence in the foreseeable future. At the same time, it was in the sphere of foreign trade that sharp disagreements first manifested themselves, indicating a clear-cut rift between the external political goals of the superpowers and the ability of their internal legislative systems to address these challenges. This article is devoted to reviewing the processes of transforming US foreign trade legislation during the détente period. It aims to insert this track into the pattern of forming Washington's course towards the Soviet state from the late 1960s to 1979. The research draws on the documents of both chambers of Congress, revealing the content of the debate on the adoption of export regulation laws and reflecting the views on this issue that existed at that time. The digital documents of the US State Department and Presidents R. Nixon and J. Carter are used to reflect their attitude vis-à-vis trade matters. It is shown how the executive and legislative branches interacted when updating the regulatory framework of foreign trade. The conclusion holds that while maintaining the general liberal vector in drafting foreign trade laws, they have always contained control standards for high-tech products export to socialist countries aimed at curbing scientific and technological progress in the USSR. As a result, the economic, scientific and technical foundation of détente in Soviet-American relations remained feeble and proved inadequate for preventing the confrontational recession in the early 1980s.

Examining the international bushmeat traffic in Belgium: A threat to conservation and public health

The carriage of bushmeat into the European Union is an infringement of EU Animal Health and Wildlife Trade legislation and poses a threat to biodiversity and public health. To explore the nature and scale of the international bushmeat trade, seized leaking luggage and passengers arriving at Brussels Zaventem airport from sub-Saharan Africa between 2017 and 2018 were searched for “meat” (bushmeat and livestock) by border control authorities. Visual identification, radiography and genetic analysis were applied to derive information from seized specimens, including at least ten CITES-listed species. We estimate that an average of 3.9 t of bushmeat is smuggled monthly through Brussels. The average consignment of meat seized per passenger was 2.8 kg and 4 kg of bushmeat or domestic livestock meat, respectively. The international trafficking of bushmeat is evidently active, yet penalties are rarely enforced; hence we provide suggestions to simplify law enforcement procedures.

The Arrest of Ship Regime in Nigeria: Lessons from South Africa

Nigeria and South Africa are the biggest economies in Africa, and they engage in substantial shipping and international trade. Therefore, effective shipping and trade legislation is a requisite for the resolution of disputes that may arise, and ship arrest is an important mechanism to resolve such disputes. This article employs the doctrinal legal methodology to reach a comparative analysis of ship arrest procedures in Nigeria and South Africa, and argues that the South African legal framework regarding ship arrest is more liberal and friendly than that of Nigeria. Given the plethora of trade arrangements involving both countries, this article recommends that Nigeria adopts some of the unique provisions of the South African arrest regime through legislation. It is also suggested that Nigerian courts should interpret the admiralty jurisdiction legal instruments to align with the local needs of the country.

Emerging infectious diseases never end: The fight continues.

Emerging infectious diseases have accompanied the development of human society while causing great harm to humans, and SARS-CoV-2 was only one in the long list of microbial threats. Many viruses have existed in their natural reservoirs for a very long time, and the spillover of viruses from natural hosts to humans via interspecies transmission serves as the main source of emerging infectious diseases. Widely existing viruses capable of utilizing human receptors to infect human cells in animals signal the possible outbreak of another viral infection in the near future. Extensive and close collaborative surveillance across nations, more effective wildlife trade legislation, and robust investment into applied and basic research will help to combat the possible pandemics of new emerging infectious diseases in the future.

Does the U.S. Congress Respond to Public Opinion on Trade?

Are U.S. legislators responsive to public opinion on trade? Despite the prevalence of preference-based approaches to international trade, not much work has directly assessed the relationship between constituency opinion and positioning by members of Congress on trade bills. We assess dynamic responsiveness (whether shifting constituency opinion on trade yields corresponding changes among legislators) by exploiting an original dataset on the positions of members of Congress on the North American Free Trade Agreement at various points leading up to the November 1993 roll-call vote. We find no evidence of dynamic re-sponsiveness to shifting constituency opinion on even a highly salient piece of trade legislation. We provide qualitative evidence that interest group influence may instead be the predominant source of shifting legislator positioning on trade.

«ЗОЛОТИЙ ВІК»: ІНТЕГРАЦІЯ ІТАЛІЙСЬКОЇ ЕКОНОМІКИ У ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКИЙ РИНОК (1951–1973 РР.)

The article is devoted to the development of the Italian economy in 1951–1973, which is recognized by researchers as the most successful period in the economic history of independent Italy, and which coincided with the first two decades of its European integration. The division of the economic history of Italy for 1951–1973 into three stages was proposed. In the first stage (1951–1957) Italy joined the European Coal and Steel Union (ECSU). Together with the admission, Italy has undertaken to change trade legislation toward liberalization, reduce quotas and tariff rates. At the same time, the Italian Government developed a program of accelerated development of some sectors of heavy industry, including metallurgy, based on the availability of cheap coal and technologies from other countries of the European Union, as well as on the emergence of promising markets for sales. The second stage (1958–1963) was reached for the first years after Italy joined the European Economic Community (EEC). This stage is known in the historiography as “economic miracle”, or “economic boom”, due to extremely high rates of economic development. It is argued that the factor of European integration has become a significant impetus for the development and transformation of Italy. As a result of the deliberate economic policy, the EEC countries have become Italy’s main trading partners. The third stage (1958–1973) is characterized by the rationalization of economic management, as well as by the gradual slowdown in economic growth. There signs of stagnation began to emerge, and they became evident after the failure to fulfil the goals of economic development of the country. A number of economic indicators demonstrate the beginning of a change in the type of Italian economy from industrial to post–industrial. However, this process had a negative impact on the pace of economic development. In general, the changes in the Italian economy during 1951–1973 were not only quantitative but also structural. Italy is an example of a semi–agrarian, under–developed country, that was in a state of post–war recovery with limited financial and natural resources, but with the help of its competent economic policy and European integration, it has become a developed industrial country, which has taken a leading place in the newly created the European common market.

Creation of Family Farms and its Impact on Agricultural and Forestry Land Trade Legislation

In the next article, I would like to summarise how the fundamental law on family farms, which entered into force in 2021, had an impact on the established rules of Transaction of agricultultral and forestry land in Hungarian law.

Evaluating the efficiency of popular species identification analytical methods, and integrative workflow using morphometry and barcoding bioinformatics for taxonomy and origin of traded cryptic brown frogs

The unregulated wildlife trade increases the risk of global biological invasions and, therefore, accurate taxonomic assignments and origin-tracing methods are critical. First, using a meta-analysis comparing studies from the last 10 years, we quantified the efficiency of popular analytical methods used for species assignments and confirmed the higher sensitivity of coalescent-based methods in isolating cryptic operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Second, we proposed a workflow for species identification of unidentified animals from the trade, in this case cryptic Brown frogs ( Rana ) imported into the Republic of Korea. This integrated workflow relies on the use of a single-locus 16S rRNA gene barcoding along with morphometry, phylogenetic trait, species delimitation modelling and phylogeography. Out of 171 samples, we identified three erroneously imported non-native species: R. chensinensis, R. amurensis and R. kukunoris. Bayes factor delimitation modelling most supported the presence of 12 OTUs from the trade, highlighting a hidden genetic diversity. Both molecular and morphological analyses converged towards a high phenotypic crypticity and similarity in genetic sequences between Korean R. huanrenensis and Chinese R. chensinensis. The combined model-based OTUs and 16S rRNA gene phylogeny of traded and control specimens ( n = 230) recovered the trade pathways, and revealed the widespread and likely wild-harvested origins of traded Rana individuals. Our results also highlight the independent evolution of toe webbings in Rana for the last 12.0 Mya, a potential key trait for species identification of northeastern Asian Rana . With the workflow for large-scale species identification developed herein, we urge the development of trade monitoring and legislation on Rana species in northeast Asia. Schematic diagram explaining the unifying framework used in this study to quantify hidden crypticity in trades species. This highlights the major components of crypticity in biological invasion, derived from Jarić et al. (2019) . The integration consisted of three aspects: phylogeography, morphometry and taxonomy along with conventional genetic barcoding. It provides an effective solutions to trace and measure the crypticity of introduced Rana through the wildlife trade. The blue coloured arrows represent the flow for species assignment with physical morphometry and the red coloured arrows represent the flow for species assignment with DNA sequences. • Cross-study comparison on efficiency of analytical methods commonly used for species delimitations in the recent 10 years. • An integrative workflow using single-locus barcoding, morphometry and bioinformatics to infer cryptic amphibians from trade. • Incorporation of model-based Operational Taxonomic Units into phylogeny to trace trade pathways for brown frogs in northeast Asia. • Toe webbing character as a key morphometric trait to differentiate phenotypically cryptic brown frogs across northeast Asia.

African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa): Impact on Small Businesses and Export Revenue in Nigeria

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), bipartisan trade legislation and a cornerstone of US commercial policy towards Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), was enacted on 18 May 2000. The non-reciprocal initiative granted unprecedented duty-free access to more than 1800 eligible exports of SSA. The ultimate objective of this initiative is to create small businesses, boost exports and enhance economic growth in SSA. This study, therefore, analyzed available trade data from 2000 to 2019 to ascertain whether or not Nigeria’s non-oil exports to the US have increased as a result of AGOA. We undertook a descriptive and non-technical analysis of the impact of AGOA, which revealed that Nigeria’s non-oil exports to the US had not shown any discernable or notable increase since 2000. Excluding oil exports, the US has experienced a trade surplus with Nigeria since the inception of AGOA. Hence, the expected positive impact of AGOA on small businesses remains elusive. Policy recommendations on how Nigeria may overcome the impediments to AGOA are discussed.

Shaping strategic arms trade controls: A multivariate approach

AbstractThe objective of this study is to measure the stringency of strategic arms trade controls across countries and explain the variation herein. This regulatory framework is implemented by sovereign states to control the international transfer of military‐strategic items that potentially contain a security risk. For the purpose of this study, I apply a two‐stage approach. In the first step, I employ factor analysis on more than sixty regulatory indicators related to the rigorousness of and compliance to strategic arms trade controls in a particular country to construct two new measures. The first measure is related to the extent of implementing arms trade laws and legislation, while the second captures the enforcement and control of this kind of regulation. The individual country scores indicate that there exists substantial variation in the extent to which countries implement and enforce strategic trade regulations. Therefore, in the second step, I use the predicted factor scores as a dependent variable in a Bayesian Model Averaging analysis to test several economic and political theories and find the key drivers of the stringency of strategic arms trade regulations and control policies. The general findings of this analysis suggest that the implementation and enforcement of strategic arms trade controls are primarily determined by the trade‐off between two competing policy objectives: national security on the one hand and domestic economic interests on the other. In particular, the implementation effort of arms trade laws and legislation is mainly explained by economic factors, while the degree of enforcement and control is more associated with political factors.

Zarozhdenie i evolyuciya torgovogo prava na Rusi v XI — ​ pervoj polovine XVII v.

The article touches upon the genesis and evolution of Russian trade legislation in the period of feudal fragmentation and centralized state. The legal norms contained in the oldest monuments of Russian law, which played a significant role in regulating trade relations in Russia, are analyzed. The author identifies patterns in the development and formation of Russian civil legislation in the field of trade activity.

Problems of Application of Certain Antimonopoly Banks in the Implementation of the Activities of Trading Chains

Trade legislation contains a number of antitrust bans for retail chains. Prohibitions include: antimonopoly rules for subjects of trading activity (Article 13), restrictions on the acquisition / lease of additional retail facilities by retail chains (Article 14) and others. The article examines the nature of the prohibition of Article 13, identifies the problems of applying the prohibition to create discriminatory conditions. The author analyzes the question of the application of Article 14. Based on the results of the analysis, it has been established that Article 13 applies to all retail chains without establishing their market share, which, from the author’s point of view, is incorrect. Antitrust authorities often misclassify the prohibition on creating discriminatory conditions, equating to them any discrepancy between the terms of contracts of the same retail chain with suppliers. In this case, the author proposes to analyze the commodity market, to identify the unequal position of suppliers. Problems in the application of Article 14 are due to the need to abandon the unconditional prohibition and the introduction of a permissive procedure for the implementation of transactions, abandoning the formal approach when assessing the market share of the trading network at the time of the transaction. It is also necessary to clarify the moment from which the additional retail space is considered acquired: the conclusion of the contract or the signing of the deed of transfer.

Reforms for culmination of the deadlock in appellate body of WTO: An agenda of saving the multilateral trading system

The World Trade Organization's (WTO’s) dispute settlement mechanism, known as the "pearl in the crown," is stalled due to United States (U.S.) obstruction, which prevents appellate body members from being ordained. This situation continues, and the WTO’s dispute settlement function is paralyzed since 2019. The WTO has faced a crisis in recent years, and the trade legislation has stagnated. The dispute settlement body was also blocked due to U.S. interference, which led to the failure of the appellate body’s members to be selected. The data has been gathered for this descriptive study using secondary research method, including different newspaper articles and the internet, which were outlined and noted. This paper presents and evaluates several existing proposals on how to get out of the impasse. This paper points out whether the existing WTO members can choose to join or not participate in establishing a new appellate body. On this basis, it makes its own relatively unique proposal, namely, to establish a substantial dispute settlement mechanism outside the WTO, parallel to the existing dispute settlement mechanism, and it demonstrates the legal feasibility of the proposal. Immediately, the states should begin negotiations on the significant agreements required for this new appellate body. It will effectively solve the deadlock in the dispute settlement mechanism caused by the United States, blocking the appointment of members of the appellate body.

How China's Wildlife Trade Legislation Permits Commercial Trade in Protected Wild Animal Species

AbstractWildlife trade policies in China and elsewhere have come under increased scrutiny following suggestions that the emergence of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 may have been linked to trade in wild animals. The breeding of and trade in most terrestrial wild animal species for consumption as food were prohibited in China in February 2020, but trade for non-food purposes such as ornamental items or traditional medicine continues to be covered by provisions in the Wildlife Protection Law (WPL). While a superficial reading of the WPL could lead to the conclusion that commercial trade in nationally protected species is generally prohibited, in practice key language is interpreted to permit commercial trade in the parts and derivatives of protected wild animal species, including those subject to the most stringent protection within China and internationally, such as leopards and pangolins.

The Elephant in the Courtroom: An Analysis of the United Kingdom’s Ivory Act 2018, Its Path to Enactment, and Its Potential Impact on the Illegal Trade in Ivory

In 2019, Royal Assent was granted to the United Kingdom’s Ivory Act 2018. The legislation, introduced by Environment Secretary Michael Gove in 2018, was welcomed by politicians and conservation groups as “an extraordinary achievement” and “a landmark in our fight to protect wildlife and the environment.” In passing through the Parliamentary process in only seven months, the Ivory Act was testament to the cross-party commitment to tackling the illegal ivory trade. However, its path to enactment has not been smooth sailing. Following Royal Assent, the Ivory Act was the subject of judicial review brought by a company created by a group of antiques dealers, the Friends of Antique Cultural Treasures Limited, for the purpose of challenging the Ivory Act. While the Ivory Act is now considered among the strictest ivory trade legislation in the world, this article considers its path to enactment, its likely impact on the trade in ivory artifacts in the United Kingdom, and whether the act can fulfil the British government’s aim to make it “one of the toughest bans on the planet.”

ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ОХОТНИЧЬЕ-ПРОМЫСЛОВОГО ХОЗЯЙСТВА НА ТЕРРИТОРИИ ВИТИМО-ОЛЕКМИНСКОГО ОКРУГА В 1930–1938-е гг.

The article presents a comprehensive study of the problems of the hunting and trade economy of Vitim-Olyokminsky District in 1930-1938. The source base of the research is represented by documents of the State Archive of Zabaikalsky Krai that have not been introduced into academic discourse. Among them are documents of the district and regional planning of fur stocks, as well as reports on the economic and cultural development of the district over a 5-year period, from 1931 to 1936, which outlined the fundamental directions of the development of traditional sectors of the economy and, first of all, the fur trade. Particularly valuable are the field materials of land surveying and research expeditions, which left detailed reports on the statistical and economic state of the district. The study of the topic was carried out in accordance with the basic principles of historical research, the principles of objectivity and historicism. Based on these principles, the article defines and uses a number of methods of scientific knowledge: historical-genetic, historical-comparative, concrete-historical. In the course of the study, the following aspects are consistently analyzed: the state of the regulatory framework for the introduction of new practice in trade legislation, the regulation of the hunting process and the procurement of fur raw materials, their implementation and control in the hunting areas and organizational and delivery fees, objective difficulties in practical implementation, planning of fur harvesting by regional and district harvesting structures, the difference in indicators arising on a given soil. The features of the quarterly allocation and its implementation, the problems of organizing labor and overcoming the systemic crisis of the trade industry of the national economy, the timing of the trade season, the technique of procurement of fur raw materials are thoroughly disclosed. The implementation of the program of biological and zootechnical measures aimed at enriching the commercial fauna of the district is considered. The district and regional authorities, within the indicated chronological framework, were forced to hastily solve complex problems that existed in the region in prerevolutionary times and aggravated in the 1920s-1930s. A significant part of the planned activities was implemented through trial and error; nevertheless, this contributed to the general growth of the fur raw material sector of the economy and an increase in the level of commercial labor productivity. At the same time, the greatest difficulties were in personnel and financial problems - they became the main reasons for the inhibited development of the entire organizational and technical complex of the district trade industry.