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Article
Publication date: 19 June 2009

Teshager Dagne

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the competing views on the link between trade and environment in the World Trade Organization (WTO), and come up with a proposal that…

5182

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the competing views on the link between trade and environment in the World Trade Organization (WTO), and come up with a proposal that better clarifies the scope of legality of environmentally motivated unilateral trade measures in the multilateral trading system.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a doctrinal approach to legal research in providing an exegesis on the various efforts towards the integration of trade and environment in the WTO framework.

Findings

Employing the theory of transnational social justice as its analytical tool, the paper suggests that a state contemplating the use of environmentally motivated unilateral trade measures first extend positive measures to the communities in other states that are affected by the purported measure. Accordingly, it argues that unilateral trade measures are allowed in the system only as a last resort and only if their application runs congruent to the values and objectives recognized by the system.

Originality/value

It is hoped that the discussion and proposition in this paper will contribute to the discourse on the clarification of the status of environmentally motivated unilateral trade measures in the WTO.

Details

Journal of International Trade Law and Policy, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-0024

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 March 2009

Joseph M. Senona

The purpose of this paper is to seek to critically look at the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and Word Trade Organization Doha Round of negotiations, and their substantive…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to seek to critically look at the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and Word Trade Organization Doha Round of negotiations, and their substantive outcomes on the main trade issues with a view to assessing their development content, nature and impact so far.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper will carry out that purpose by reviewing EPAs and Doha Round's original mandates on development and benchmarking the outcomes thereof against the “new development economics” imperatives and the assertion that trade policy has to truly foster development and progressively realize the right to development in a sustainable manner.

Findings

The main findings of the paper are that the two negotiating processes are failing to meet the development expectations and objectives set out in their respective mandates or put in place suitable trade policy options to ensure sustainable development. The processes are in fact mainly driven by commercial as opposed to developmental interest and tend to impede rather than promote both global and regional intergration of developing countries.

Originality/value

In making a conclusion, the paper posits some practical and conceptual suggestions to trade policy makers and negotiators with a view to operationalise and inform a paradigm shift in global trade relations and the concomitant machineries that have hitherto focused mainly on market access and commercial interest; to one underpinned by new development economics imperatives and the right to development as the principal benchmarks of trade policy.

Details

Journal of International Trade Law and Policy, vol. 8 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-0024

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 7 January 2016

Mehdi Abbas

This paper analyses the stalling of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) and its systemic and institutional consequences through a geopolitical economy approach that integrates the…

Abstract

This paper analyses the stalling of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) and its systemic and institutional consequences through a geopolitical economy approach that integrates the French school of international economic relations and Régulation Theory. These approaches put states and their economic roles at the fore, correcting dominant free trade approaches to world trade. The paper also avoids monocausal explanations for trade talk deadlocks and aims to provide a comprehensive approach on the co-evolution of world trade patterns and its institutions. In this approach, the DDA stalemate is traced to an institution-structure mismatch in how states articulate their accumulation strategies and institutions (competition, state regulation, adhesion to international regime) to the World Trade Organization (WTO) regime occasioned by the emergence of new trade powers. This has given rise to three distinct conflicts in how member states navigate between the main parameters of the multilateral trading system (non-discrimination, reciprocity and balance of power) and their national accumulation strategies: the erosion of non-discrimination and reciprocity; the failure to build an operational compromise between development and ‘globalization’, that is, between multilateral openness and new trade and power balances; and the difficulty in reaching a compromise between historical and emerging capitalisms. The outcome of these conflicts will determine the institutional configuration of the post-Doha WTO agenda.

Article
Publication date: 31 March 2022

Chase Englund

A large portion of labor and trade in most countries is devoted to the service sector, and thus service sector impacts are crucial to a full understanding of the effects of WTO

Abstract

A large portion of labor and trade in most countries is devoted to the service sector, and thus service sector impacts are crucial to a full understanding of the effects of WTO membership. The effect of WTO membership on trade volume has been subject to debate in the past, but critically, these studies have failed to examine service sector trade specifically. Conventional wisdom would seem to suggest that WTO membership should have boosted services trade, particularly after the implementation of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in 1995. However, the relationship has yet to be rigorously tested. Here, I use data comprising 178 countries across a span ranging from 1995 until 2015 to examine the impact that WTO membership, and specifically WTO accession, has had on service sector trade levels relative to goods trade levels after the adoption of GATS. Statistical tests yield weak evidence for any significant relationship between WTO membership and service sector trade, with some possible exceptions for states that underwent many rounds of negotiations. This exception is explored further through a comparison of the WTO accessions of China and Vietnam. However, even in these extreme cases, it is difficult to find clear evidence of service sector liberalization. Overall, the findings imply that, in almost all cases, WTO rules and accessions have underemphasized service sector trade in favor of agricultural and goods trade, generating lopsided impacts to trade efficiency.

Details

Journal of International Logistics and Trade, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1738-2122

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 31 December 2021

Kyoungseo Hong, Jeong Ho Yoo and Inkyo Cheong

As the US-China conflict intensifies, the United States is pursuing a ‘decoupling’ strategy to build a new world trade order, arguing that the current World Trade Organization (WTO

Abstract

As the US-China conflict intensifies, the United States is pursuing a ‘decoupling’ strategy to build a new world trade order, arguing that the current World Trade Organization (WTO) system does not properly regulate China's non-market economic system. The WTO provides special and differentiated treatment (S&DT) for developing countries. The United States argues that China should give up its developing country (DC) status. Sufficient research on the DC status and S&DT has not been conducted as a means of resolving the US-China conflict. Decoupling means the collapse of the global supply chain (GSC), which will bring substantial shock to the global economy and a catastrophe for China. This paper examines the re-classification of DC status and S&DT in the context of US-China conflict and seeks an approach for China to avoid decoupling and coexist with the United States. It would be an optimal way for China to revive the WTO first and to improve its economic system through negotiations under the WTO.

Details

Journal of International Logistics and Trade, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1738-2122

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2005

Dipendra Sinha

In this paper, we look at the GATT/WTO framework and examine the extent to which it has served the interests of the developing countries. The scope of WTO is much broader than…

1700

Abstract

In this paper, we look at the GATT/WTO framework and examine the extent to which it has served the interests of the developing countries. The scope of WTO is much broader than that of the GATT. The WTO covers a number of areas which were outside the purview of the GATT. Our survey indicates that reforms are badly needed so that the interests of the developing countries can be served better.

Details

International Journal of Development Issues, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1446-8956

Abstract

Details

The Political Economy of Policy Reform: Essays in Honor of J. Michael Finger
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-44451-816-3

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2005

Daniel Roseman

To assess the impact of China's WTO commitments on foreign investment flows, domestic regulation and industry performance in the telecommunications services sector.

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Abstract

Purpose

To assess the impact of China's WTO commitments on foreign investment flows, domestic regulation and industry performance in the telecommunications services sector.

Design/methodology/approach

Situates GATS disciplines in telecommunications in their historical context, then reviews China's specific commitments, and finally reviews available data on developments in China since accession.

Findings

China's commitments on market access and national treatment in telecommunications services are rather modest, and China is lagging in the implementation of regulatory disciplines. Nevertheless, China has gone a long distance toward a complete transformation of the telecommunications sector with little outside influence and no outside ownership or control. It is mainly because the prospect of joining the WTO and opening to the world galvanized government and industry into action. The overall thrust of those actions, however, has been to ensure that telecommunications plays its full role as a strategic economic sector and helps deliver economic benefits to the Chinese people in order to legitimize Communist Party leadership.

Research limitations/implications

Up‐to‐date and coherent data on industry performance (e.g. penetration rates, productivity increases, etc.) are lacking.

Practical implications

Very useful background and analysis relating to: relationship between, on the one hand, international trade commitments and, on the other hand, domestic reforms and industry performance; and on‐going issues in China's efforts to implement its WTO obligations and to create a statutory, regulatory and institutional framework supportive of continued growth of the telecommunications sector in China.

Originality/value

Responds to an identified information need with information and analysis of practical value.

Details

info, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-6697

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 September 2014

Kristen Hopewell

The aim of this paper is to revisit the Brazilian case in an effort to shed light on how state-business relations have been transformed in the contemporary era of globalization…

1490

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to revisit the Brazilian case in an effort to shed light on how state-business relations have been transformed in the contemporary era of globalization. Brazil has long been considered the archetype of “dependent development”, having served as the inspiration for the classic theory of the relationship between states and capital in the semi-peripheral states of the developing world. Since the theory of dependent development was initially formulated in the 1970s, however, both the Brazilian political economy and the global context in which it is situated have changed dramatically.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis draws on 15 months of field research conducted in Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Beijing, New Delhi and Washington, as well as at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, involving 157 interviews with senior government officials, trade negotiators and representatives of industry and non-governmental organizations, ethnographic observation and extensive documentary research.

Findings

The author shows how the emergence of a highly competitive export-oriented agribusiness sector in Brazil has prompted the expansion and internationalization of domestic capital, leading to the emergence of an independent, private sector lobby with considerable influence on the Brazilian state. Driven by the rise of Brazilian agribusiness, the state and capital have allied together to aggressively pursue the expansion of markets for Brazilian exports, specifically through dispute settlement and negotiations at the WTO.

Originality/value

These findings challenge conventional understandings of state-business relations in emerging economies such as Brazil.

Details

critical perspectives on international business, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-2043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 March 2014

Caf Dowlah

The purpose of the paper is to examine convergence of economic interests – both empirically and theoretically – among labor-abundant (labor-sending) and labor scarce (labor…

1016

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to examine convergence of economic interests – both empirically and theoretically – among labor-abundant (labor-sending) and labor scarce (labor receiving) countries, in the context of Mode 4 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) of the WTO. The paper also explores regional trade associations as an interim alternative forum for promoting temporary cross-border labor mobility in the backdrop of failure of multilateral trade negotiations under the Doha Round.

Design/methodology/approach

The research methodology of the paper involves literature review, an analysis of databases and theoretical findings, and a critical examination of pertinent empirical and secondary information on the subject matter.

Findings

The findings reveal that although a convergence of economic interests seem to exist between the labor-sending and receiving countries for promoting cross-border labor mobility, this sector faces formidable trade and non-trade barriers across the world, especially in the developed countries. As multilateral trade negotiations under the Doha Round have failed to make any progress toward liberalization of this sector, regional trade associations, especially those pursued by the USA, Canada and Australia, seem to provide a credible alternative vehicle, as an interim measure, for further liberalization of this sector. These RTAs can serve as examples for other RTAs to promote regional mobility of labor.

Research limitations/implications

Cross-border temporary labor mobility, as envisaged by GATs of the WTO, is a burgeoning field. Although some serious works are available, especially sponsored by the World Bank and some leading universities, there is a considerable dearth in this field, especially in respect to contribution from individual scholars and researchers. This paper fills the void to some extent by ascertaining factors and forces that help or hinder cross-border mobility, by pointing out limitations of multilateral trade negotiations under the WTO, and by exploring the regional trade associations as an interim measure for promoting cross-border labor mobility.

Practical implications

This paper points out factors and forces that help or hinder cross-border mobility, ascertains crucial limitations of multilateral trade negotiations under the WTO, and explores the RTAs as an interim measure for promoting cross-border labor mobility – all these would have practical policy implications.

Originality/value

The originality of the paper lies with its critical and careful review of existing literature and available databases, with the determination of factors and forces that help or hinder cross-border mobility in the contemporary world, in pointing out the limitations of multilateral trade negotiations under the WTO, and in exploring the RTAs as an interim measure for promoting cross-border labor mobility.

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