Trade-related Regulations Research Articles

Impact of Trade Liberalization Policies on Investment and Development in Developing Countries

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of trade liberalization policies on investment and development in developing countries Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: Trade liberalization policies have led to increased foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and export opportunities in developing countries. However, they have also posed challenges such as heightened competition and vulnerability to external shocks. The effectiveness of trade liberalization policies varies across countries and depends on factors such as institutional capacity, infrastructure, and trade-related regulations. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Dependency theory, institutional theory & stages of economic development theory may be used to anchor future studies on the impact of trade liberalization policies on investment and development in developing countries. Policymakers should prioritize the design and implementation of targeted interventions aimed at maximizing the benefits of trade liberalization while mitigating its potential adverse effects. Moreover, policymakers should prioritize investments in education, healthcare, and social protection to enhance human capital development and ensure that the benefits of trade liberalization are equitably distributed across society

The WTO and Regional Trading Agreements: Is it All Over for Multilateralism?

Regional Trading Arrangements (RTAs) have always posed problems for the GATT/WTO. Although during the negotiations leading up to the GATT it appeared as if tight restrictions would be placed on the creation of RTAs, in the event US foreign policy considerations led to much weaker rules being adopted. And since then, geo-political forces have prevented the system from enforcing even these weaker disciplines. At the same time, the GATT has reduced tariffs so that since 1994 trade policy issues in the WTO have mostly been regulatory. These are difficult to negotiate among the full membership and so we have seen the growth of the so- called mega-regionals - mainly the TPP and TTIP - that have attempted to deal with them. Two important features characterise these mega-regionals: they explicitly aim to write trade and trade-related regulations not only for their members but for the whole WTO membership as well, and China is excluded from their deliberations. This paper sets out these processes and argues that the mega-regionals violate multilateralism because either the countries excluded from them cannot accept their rules for world trade, thus fragmenting the world trading system, or they do accept the rules but have played no role in their design.