Day3lecture5_(1)[2].ppt
- 1. The World Trading System: Trade Liberalization between the Multilateral System and the Regional Trade Agreements Ahmed F. Ghoneim Cairo University
- 2. What is meant by Trade Liberalization? Trade liberalization is not any more confined only to reduction of tariffs, but has now been extended to dealing with domestic rules and regulations, standards, services, intellectual property rights, labor and environmental issues.
- 3. The World Trading System: 1) World Trade Organization (GATT, GATS, TRIPS) 2) Regional Trade Agreements 3) Other systems
- 4. The World Trading System Other Systems RTAs GATT and WTO
- 5. World Trade Organization • Bretton Wood’s Institutions in 1947: (World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and International Trade Organization) • US Failed to ratify the Havana Charter to create ITO • Protocol of Provisional Application of GATT instead of ITO • Eight Successful Rounds of Multilateral Negotiations for Trade Liberalization under GATT
- 6. • Original 23 Contracting Parties included 11 Developing Countries (DCs) • Many DCs did not join • No effective participation of DCs until the Tokyo Round, 1974-1979 • Import substitution the dominant dogma
- 7. The Uruguay Round – 1986-1994 • Torturous Negotiations Over 7 Years • Single Undertaking • Establishment of the WTO • Agreement on Agriculture and GATS • TRIMS and TRIPS • Dispute Settlement System
- 8. • GATT aims at liberalization of trade through reduction of tariffs and elimination of non-tariff barriers. Its two main principles are Most Favored Nation (MFN) and National Treatment. • WTO is based on the same rules of GATT but is extended as well to services and intellectual property rights. • There are 164 members of the WTO.
- 9. What is the World Trade Organization (WTO)? • Institutional framework for – Negotiation of global trade agreements – Implementing global trade agreements – Settling disputes under the global trade agreements – Reviewing trade policies – Admitting new members
- 10. Who Governs the WTO? • The Member Countries (one country one vote rule). There are 164 member countries • Decision is based on consensus • Contrast to World Bank and IMF (controlling their boards by U.S. and EU)
- 11. Ministerial Conference General Council Council for Trade in Services Council for TRIPS Council for Trade in Goods DSB Trade Policy Review Mechanism
- 12. Who Manages the WTO? The WTO Secretariat Headed by a Director General
- 13. Legal Components of WTO • GATT (Agreement on Trade in Goods), now called WTO agreements • GATS (Agreement on Trade in Services) • TRIPS (Intellectual Property Agreement) • WTO Institutional Arrangement (Dispute Settlement Mechanism and Trade Policy Review) • Plurilateral Agreements
- 14. Fundamental WTO Principles • Transparency • MFN • National treatment • Due process • Reciprocity – balance of concessions – balance of rights and obligations • Least trade distorting standard
- 15. Basic GATT Framework • Barriers should be at the border • Barriers should be in the form of tariffs • No internal barriers in domestic laws • No discrimination among members • Legal binding of maximum tariffs in national schedules • Certain enumerated exceptions permitted
- 16. GATS • Trade defined in different modes of supply including 1) cross-border movement, 2) consumption abroad, 3) commercial presence, 4) temporary movement of natural persons GATS contains • Rules – Rules that apply to all services - transparency of laws, regulations, decisions, and MFN – Rules covering sectors in which products are listed in national schedules schedules – Rules covering products listed in schedules • National commitments on – National treatment – Market access (government regulations that limit decisions by producers and suppliers of services.)
- 17. Intellectual Property - TRIPS ● General Provisions & Principles ● Standards of Protection – copyrights, patents – trade marks, trade secrets, industrial design – marks of geographic origin ● Enforcement
- 18. Dispute Settlement Process ●Country must first seek to resolve dispute through bilateral consultations ● For unresolved disputes, DSB establishes panel, terms of reference ● Meetings with parties, third parties, experts ● DSB adopts Panel Report ● Request for review by Appellate Body ● Compliance, compensation or retaliation
- 19. How Are Negotiations Organized in the WTO? ● National commitments on trade measures – Request & offer procedures – Use of formulas, agreed targets, objectives ● Agreements on trade rules – Issue studied by Study and/or Working Group – Creation of negotiation committee It is the ministers who decide to launch a new round in their ministerial meetings
- 20. Current Status of Doha Round ● Negotiations are at an impasse, largely as a result of a disagreement over agriculture ● Disputes over agriculture have hampered negotiations over tariffs and services ● There is also a major disagreement over what makes the Doha Round a Development Round ● U.S. needs an extension of congressional authority to negotiate ● Delays in the conclusion of multilateral trade rounds are quite common, and do not signify end of WTO
- 21. Scheme Free intra- scheme trade Common Commerci al Policy Free Factor Mobility Common monetary policy One government Free Trade Areas Yes No No No No Customs Union Yes Yes No No No Common Market Yes Yes Yes No No Monetary Union Yes Yes Yes Yes No
- 22. Reasons for Increased Number of RTAs: US Policy towards signing more RTAs Slowness in WTO negotiations Domino effect.
- 23. • 380 RTAs have been notified to the GATT/WTO up to July 2007 and increased to 550 by July 2014 and further to 625 as of February 2016 (As of January 2017 303 were in force and 483 actively notified out of a total of 698). This number has increased six times since the beginning of the 1990s.
- 24. Thank you