Sistemas de regulação do comércio internacional em confronto: o marco dos estados e o marco das transnacionais

This article revisits a past article by the authors in which they propose a new methodology for analyzing trade issues, cross-cutting through the three ―layers‖ of international trade regulation: so-called multisystem of trade regulation. In this text the authors include another approach to international trade regulation studies, proposing a better understanding of the influence of transnational enterprises in the shaping of modern internal trade. In this sense, the transnationals are not only influencing international trade regulation through lobbying in traditional fora (especially in plurilateral and preferential trade agreements), but they are also becoming sources of their own private regulations, particularly regarding private standards. In this sense, the study of international trade regulation must take into account the activities and interests of these indispensible actors, critically analyzing the differences between the regulatory logic of states against the one keen to transnationals

The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement: a Latin American perspective

Includes Bibliography

Bilateralism and regionalism: re-establishing the primacy of multilateralism a Latin American and Caribbean perspective

Includes bibliography

Peru: integration, sectoral specialization and synchronization with international gross domestic product cycles

Includes bibliography

Comercio internacional y desempeño económico: indicadores seleccionados para economías pequeñas

Incluye anexos

Carbon-related Border Adjustment and WTO Law

By expounding the legal foundations of border tax adjustments in international trade regulation, this book lays out the scope and limitations within which border carbon adjustments need to operate. The author examines the extent to which countries can lawfully impose border adjustment measures in relation to the carbon footprint of products on importation and exportation. In doing so, she provides a thorough analysis of the provisions of the WTO Agreement applicable to border carbon adjustments, offers a comprehensive review of relevant case law and engages with the extensive literature on the subject. Given the probability of conflict with non-discrimination rules of the GATT and uncertainty over justification of different designs of carbon-related border adjustment schemes under the exceptions of GATT Article XX, the book argues for a negotiated solution and discusses the possibility of the use of border carbon adjustments under preferential trade agreements.

Setting the Rules of the Game: Mega-Regionals and the Role of the WTO

Faced with a WTO in a state of paralysis, large developed trading nations have shifted their attentions to other fora to pursue their trade policy objectives. In particular, preferential trade agreements (PTAs) are now being used to promote the regulatory disciplines that were previously rejected by developing countries at the multilateral level. These so-called ‘deep’ or ‘21st century’ PTAs address a variety of issues, from technical norms, procurement, investment protection and intellectual property rights to social and environmental protection. Moreover, recently, developed countries have sought to negotiate PTAs which are large in scale, both in terms of economic size and geographical reach, including the so-called ‘mega-regional’ PTAs, such as the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the EU-Japan PTA, the Transpacific Partnership, and the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. These mega-regional PTAs are distinctive not just in terms of their sheer size and the breadth and depth of issues addressed, but also because some of their proponents readily admit that one of the central aims pursued by such agreements is to design global rules on new trade issues. In other words, these agreements are being conceived as alternatives to multilateral rule making at the WTO level. The proliferation of 21st century trade deals raises important questions concerning the continued relevance of the WTO as a global rule-making venue, and the impact that the regulatory disciplines promoted in such agreements will have on both developing and developed countries. This paper discusses the emerging features of an international trading system that is increasingly populated by large-scale PTAs and discusses some of the points of tension that arise from such practice. Firstly, it examines instances of horizontal tension resulting from the proliferation of PTAs, particularly the extent to which such PTAs represent a threat or multilateral trade governance. Secondly, it looks at an example of vertical tension by examining the manner in which the imposition of regulatory disciplines through trade agreements can undermine the ability of countries, especially developing countries, to pursue legitimate public interest objectives. Finally, the paper considers a number of steps that could be considered to address some of the adverse effects associated with the fragmentation of the international trading system, including the option of embracing variable geometry within the WTO framework and the need to develop mechanisms that provide flexibility for developing countries in the implementation of regulatory disciplines.

The Preferential Liberalization of Trade in Services: African Perspectives And Challenges

This chapter takes stock of the state of play of preferential trade negotiations in services in Africa. It explores the factors that lie behind the reluctance of African governments to bind service sector policy under international treaties. The chapter chronicles several ongoing initiatives aimed at deepening intra-regional trade and investment among the eight regional economic cooperation areas found on the continent. It also describes external liberalization efforts engaging Africa with the rest of the world in services trade, devoting particular attention to negotiations underway with the European Community (EC) with a view to concluding WTO-compatible Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). The chapter draws attention to several novel features of the EC-CARIFORUM EPA in the services field and discusses its possible implications for Africa’s ongoing processes of integration in services markets at both the intra- and extra-regional levels. The chapter concludes with a broader discussion of a range of policy challenges confronting African governments in designing development-enhancing strategies of engagement in services trade negotiations.

FFA Fisheries Trade Briefing, Vol. 1, Issue 8 & 9, pp. 1-12, July-August 2008

Contents: Fisheries Subsidies. Status of fisheries subsidies talks at the WTO. Preferential Free Trade Agreements. Collapse of Doha Round results in rise of FTAs Update on EU Generalised System of Preferences regime Fisheries Trade-related Regulation. Soltai encounters quality problems. Update on Fiji seafood export ban to the EU. EU sanitary inspections in other developing countries Tuna Markets. Developments in the US debate on the mercury content of tuna. Other developments in the US market. Japanese tuna fisheries and seafood markets. Greenpeace tuna campaign moves to the UK. Thai Union predicts growth for 2008. (PDF contains 12 pages)

A Study on India’s Trade Relationship with SAARC Countries with Special Reference to SATA

The present study reveals that there are enormous opportunities for forging closer economic relations among SAARC countries. These opportunities could be fully utilized through the twin processes of trade liberalization and industrial restructuring which are complementary to each other. The SAARC Preferential Trade Arrangement (SAPTA) is the first step in trade liberalization. However, the scope of SAPTA has to be sufficiently widened in order to derive substantial benefits from preferential trading agreements. It is suggested that the SAARC countries adopt a combined approach for tariff elimination, tariff reduction and preferential or concessional tariffs. This process will help in moving quickly towards the creation of a Free Trade Area in the SAARC region. It is necessary to emphasis that, in any regional organization, smaller countries may feel that greater trade co-operation with their larger neighbors may result in larger countries taking over their economies. India occupies 70% of the SAARC region, both geographically and economically, and the remaining 6 nations of the SAARC borders only with India and not with each other. As the biggest, and the most industrialized trading partner among the SAARC countries, India has to recognize that a special responsibility devolves on her and take a lead in making the Regional Economic Co-operation a reality in South Asia.

Trade and infrastructure: evidences from the Andean Community

This paper presents evidence on the key role of infrastructure in the Andean Community trade patterns. Three distinct but related gravity models of bilateral trade are used. The first model aims at identifying the importance of the Preferential Trade Agreement and adjacency on intra-regional trade, while also checking the traditional roles of economic size and distance. The second and third models also assess the evolution of the Trade Agreement and the importance of sharing a common border, but their main goal is to analyze the relevance of including infrastructure in the augmented gravity equation, testing the theoretical assumption that infrastructure endowments, by reducing trade and transport costs, reduce “distance” between bilateral partners. Indeed, if one accepts distance as a proxy for transportation costs, infrastructure development and improvement drastically modify it. Trade liberalization eliminates most of the distortions that a protectionist tariff system imposes on international business; hence transportation costs represent nowadays a considerably larger barrier to trade than in past decades. As new trade pacts are being negotiated in the Americas, borders and old agreements will lose significance; trade among countries will be nearly without restrictions, and bilateral flows will be defined in terms of costs and competitiveness. Competitiveness, however, will only be achieved by an improvement in infrastructure services at all points in the production-distribution chain.

The competitiveness of agrifoods in Central American and Caribbean countries in the context of trade liberalization

Includes bibliography