'Like Products' in International Trade Law


Book Description

The obligations of international trade law hinge upon the question of what constitute 'like products'. This book seeks to develop consistent principles and an effective definition for this central issue of world trade law.




Trade and Human Health and Safety


Book Description

This book discusses the standards established for the regulation of public health and safety issues.




Non-Discrimination in International Trade in Services


Book Description

The principle of non-discrimination is fundamental to the regulation of international trade in goods and services. In the context of trade in goods, the concept of 'like products' has become a key element of the legal analysis of whether a trade obstacle violates GATT non-discrimination obligations. The equivalent concept of 'like services and service suppliers' in GATS rules on non-discrimination has received little attention in WTO jurisprudence. In light of the remaining uncertainties, Nicolas Diebold analyses the legal problems of the GATS 'like services and services suppliers' concept using a contextual and comparative methodology. The 'likeness' element is not analysed in isolation, but in context with 'less favourable treatment' and regulatory purpose as additional elements of non-discrimination. The book also explores how far theories from non-discrimination rules in GATT, NAFTA, BITs and EC as well as market definition theories from competition law may be applied to 'likeness' in GATS.




Regulatory Barriers and the Principle of Non-discrimination in World Trade Law


Book Description

The University of Michigan Press is pleased to announce the second volume in an annual series, the World Trade Forum. The Forum's members include scholars, lawyers, and government and business practitioners working in the area of international trade, law, and policy. They meet annually to discuss integration issues in international economic relations, focusing on a new theme each year. The World Trade Forum 1998 deals with the issue of regulatory barriers. Contributors focus their attention on the implications that government intervention has on the principle of nondiscrimination, the cornerstone of the World Trade Organization. The chapters, which cover both the positive and the normative level, deal in particular with the issue of "like product" definition, and with mutual recognition agreements. The relevant WTO case law is presented and analyzed, and the roundtable discussions are primarily aimed at clarifying to what extent a constitutional function should be assigned to the WTO organs, if at all. Contributors include: Christoph Bail, Jacques Bourgeois, Marco Bronckers, Thomas Cottier, William Davey, Paul Demaret, Piet Eeckhout, Crawford Falconer, Olivier Guillod, Meinhard Hilf, Gary Horlick, Robert Howse, Robert Hudec, Patrick Low, Aaditya Mattoo, Petros C. Mavroidis, Patrick Messerlin, Damien Neven, Kalypso Nicolaidis, David Palmeter, Ernst Ulrich Petresmann, Andre Sapir, and Michel Waelbroeck. Thomas Cottier is Professor of Law, Institute of European and International Economic Law, University of Bern Law School. Petros C. Mavroidis is Professor of Law, University of Neuchâtel.




Legal and Economic Principles of World Trade Law


Book Description

The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement covers international commerce in goods and services including measures that directly affect trade, such as import tariffs and quotas, and almost any type of internal measure with an impact on trade. Legal and Economic Principles of World Trade Law contributes to the analysis of the texts of World Trade Law in law and economics, reporting work done to identify improvements to the interpretation of the Agreement. It starts with background studies, the first summarizes The Genesis of the GATT, which highlights the negotiating history of the GATT 1947–8; the second introduces the economics of trade agreements. These are followed by two main studies. The first, authored by Bagwell, Staiger and Sykes, discusses legal and economic aspects of the GATT regulation of border policy instruments, such as import tariffs and import quotas. The second, written by Grossman, Horn and Mavroidis, focuses on the core provision for the regulation of domestic policy instruments - the National Treatment principles in Art. III GATT.




International Trade Law


Book Description

Written by a team of leading scholar/practitioners including a former Appellate Body member, PhD economist and former WTO Secretariat Lawyer, International Trade Law covers all aspects of WTO law. Appropriate for a two- to three-hour international trade course, the third edition covers trade in goods, services, and intellectual property, in 22 succinct chapters of around 30 pages, carefully excerpting leading cases, providing basic introductions, probing questions and real life problems. This book balances positive and normative perspectives, mixing legal texts and panel/Appellate Body decisions with analysis of economic and policy challenges faced by the international trading system. The Third Edition has been updated to include recent political and economic events, issues and policy debates, and supplements new developments in case law with additional questions and a revised Teacher’s Manual. Hallmark features of International Trade Law: • Prepared by three leading WTO scholars – providing a balanced international and methodological perspective • Up-to-date, discriminating case selection presents both classic cases and recent doctrine • Contextualizes international trade issues with insights into key economic factors at work • Key WTO cases are edited and presented to illustrate and teach central concepts and doctrine • Illuminating introductory and explanatory material throughout • Helpful summaries of key teaching points are included in each chapter • Well-crafted questions stimulate class discussion on policy issues • Manageable length for two- and three-credit courses • Adaptable to graduate-level courses in international trade • Comprehensive Teachers Manual with answers to questions as well as teaching suggestions, tips, and supplementary material appropriate for class discussion • Complemented by a thorough and up-to-date documents supplement The Third Edition has been revised to include: • Third author added: Jennifer Hillman, former member of the WTO Appellate Body and the US International Trade Commission, now Professor at Georgetown Law • Major revision of trade remedy chapters (dumping, subsidies, safeguards) with new hands-on practical problems • Completely revised chapter on technical barriers to trade (TBT) taking account of new jurisprudence post-2012 (US – Clove Cigarettes, US - Tuna II, US – COOL, EC – Seal) • New text on post-2008 trade collapse, global value chains • Updated statistics on WTO dispute settlement, free trade agreements, developing countries • Discussion of 2015 US Trade Promotion Authority, mega-regionals including TPP and TTIP, 2014 Trade Facilitation Agreement • Includes summaries of new, major cases such as Canada – Feed-in Tariff, EC – Seal, Peru – Agricultural Products, China – Rare Earths




Advanced Introduction to International Trade Law


Book Description

Written by two leading scholars with 60 years of collective experience in the area, this insightful updated second edition provides a clear and concise introduction to the fundamental components of international trade law, presenting the basic structure and principles of this complex area of law, alongside elucidation of specific GATT and WTO legal rules and institutions. Key updates include references to the most recent cases, decisions and treaty negotiation developments, analysis of populist critiques of international trade law and analysis of new areas including digital trade and security exceptions.







Trade Law, Domestic Regulation And Development


Book Description

Trade Law, Domestic Regulation and Development is about the relationship between trade, regulation and development. By combining law and economics perspectives on the international trading system, Trachtman takes an interdisciplinary approach in analyzing the topic of globalization and economic development.In a developing economy, as globalization proceeds, a critical factor is the relationship between liberalization of movement of goods, services, and people, on the one hand, and the right to regulate, including the right to regulate for development, on the other hand. In the context of market access, all countries need the right to restrict imports of goods or services that may hurt consumers or the broader society, and developing countries sometimes need the ability to subsidize their own goods and services, or sometimes to restrict imports of goods or services, in order to promote development. Nonetheless, both developed and developing countries often fall into the trap of regulating for protectionist or corrupt reasons. Finding the right balance between market access and regulation is the subject of analysis in this collected volume of 16 papers by Trachtman, and presented in a manner that is accessible and interesting to both law and economics readers. In Trachtman's own words, 'The purpose of [international] trade law in this context [globalization] seems to be to allow states to agree to avoid creating these inefficient policy externalities, not to force all states to dance to the same tune.'




The WTO, the Internet and Trade in Digital Products


Book Description

The rapid development of the Internet has led to a growing potential for electronic trade in digital content like movies, music and software. As a result, there is a need for a global trade framework applicable to such digitally-delivered content products. Yet, digital trade is currently not explicitly recognised by the trade rules and obligations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This study provides a complete analysis of the related challenges in the ongoing WTO Doha Negotiations to remedy this state of affairs. It elaborates on the required measures in the multilateral negotiations to achieve market access for digital content and examines the obstacles that lie on the path to reach consensus between the United States and the European Communities. Negotiation parameters analysed include the current US and EC regulatory approach to audiovisual and information society services and the evolution of their applicable trade policy jurisdiction. Finally, this examination takes stock of how the Doha Negotiations and parallel US-driven preferential trade agreement have so far contributed to securing free trade in digital content. As new technologies are an increasingly prominent source of trade dispute, this book is an assessment of how WTO Members can maintain the relevance of the multilateral trade framework in a changing technological and economic environment. "This important work highlights the missed opportunity in on-going global trade talks -- the failure to pursue a free trade framework for digitally delivered content. If not corrected, one can readily imagine the rise of discriminatory barriers to digital trade of the type that have dogged global trade flows for years, and a failed recognition by the WTO of the reality of modern commerce. The WTO should, as the author argues, put a "spotlight" on electronic trade, and move forward in a comprehensive fashion." Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky, Former United States Trade Representative "Wunsch-Vincent provides a comprehensive analysis of the challenges to establish a liberal trade regime for trade in digital products. This book will become an important point-of-reference for anybody interested in e-commerce and the WTO." Carlos A. Primo Braga, Senior Adviser, International Trade Department, The World Bank