Introduction World trade has been an ever evolving phenomenon and the agreements made to govern this have also been evolving. In order to stabilise and centralise trade agreements, multilateral trading system came into being and people thought that this is an ultimate solution to facilitate trade among different nations and take care of any issues emerging thereby. As the time passed by, many countries started to feel the need to have a close agreement within a concentrated setting and as a result regional trade agreement (RTA) and preferential trade agreements (PTA). With mushrooming number of RTAs and PTAs, it became essential to assess the extent to which these agreements have been capable of changing economic scenario around the world. The proliferation of these agreements, the experts have started to debate whether these agreements are taking over the multilateral trading systems, especially of WTO. A number of studies have been carried out in this direction as well in order to find out the extent to which these agreements have positive or negative effect on the economic activities in the countries where these agreements have been preferred over multilateral trading system (Lloyd, 2002). The evolutions of these agreements have accelerated in the recent past and an average WTO member has agreement with more than 15 countries (Schaefer, 2007). The proliferation mainly aims at making trade relations more cohesive and more rewarding. Trade liberalisations may have paced up the economic activities; it has adverse effect on multilateral trading system. The trend towards regionalism can hamper the very aim of the multilateral trading system in the long-run. The very idea behind introducing such a system was to facilitate economic d... ... middle of paper ... ... L. (2005),Eager to ink, but ready to act? RTA proliferation and international cooperation on competition policy. Competition provisions in regional trade agreements: how to assure development gains, 1. 10. Oduor, M. (2005),Resolving Trade Disputes in Africa: Choosing Between Multilateralism and Regionalism: The Case of COMESA and the WTO. Tul. J. Int'l & Comp. L., 13, 177. 11. Lee, Y. S. (2011), Reconciling RTAs with the WTO multilateral trading system: Case for a New Sunset Requirement on RTAs and Development Facilitation. Journal of World Trade, 45(3), 629-651. 12. Leal-Arcas, R. (2010), Proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements: Complementing or Supplanting Multilateralism. Chi. J. Int'l L., 11, 597. 13. Sampson, G. P., & Woolcock, S. (Eds.). (2003),Regionalism, multilateralism, and economic integration: the recent experience. United Nations University Press.
In today's globalized economies, virtually every country in the world belongs to some form of regional integrated trade organization whether by direct membership, bilateral or multilateral agreement. Regional integration is a process by which sovereign states in a particular region enter into an agreement to promote economic growth through the reduction of barriers to trade restrictions and safeguard common interests such as the environment. The removal of trade barriers results in a free trade zone thus creating a single market. Sovereign nations have many differences, some may be more economically sound and others may have a greater labor force or better technology. In the end, all regional nations must find a method to work together for the common good of all parties. The development of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was to solidify the nations occupying the North American continent, Canada, the United States (U.S.) and Mexico. Many proponents question the success of NAFTA for these nations. This essay will examine the advantages and disadvantages of regional integration and the regional economic development of these nations as members of NAFTA.
http://www.wto.org. 2013. WTO | Regional Trade Agreements gateway. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/region_e/region_e.htm. [Accessed 02 December 2013].
-“At a time when the world trading system is supposed to be taking the interests of developing countries more seriously, the lengthening time to negotiate accession and the uncertainty created by the inadequate legal definition of the price of WTO accession are major concerns” (10)
First, on the global scale, we have the World Trade Organization (WTO) that has been around since 1995. While the WTO is doing a good job at enhancing the quality and quantity of trade, promoting sustainable trade development, and putting
Thus, the driving forces behind the launching of the last GATT round and the first WTO round were very different. The Uruguay Round came into being because a critical mass of outward looking developed and developing countries putting the recalcitrant countries “offside” considered it necessary to expand and “repair” the world trading system, making it more up to date. In contrast, the Doha Round became necessary in order to achieve substantial liberalization in the built in agenda within a fixed timeframe. At the same time a new round offered the opportunity to address the problems that the outcome of the previous round had created for the developing countries.
A regional trade agreement is “where member nations agree to impose lower barriers to trade within the group than trade with nonmember nations,” (Carbaugh, p 529). Regional trade agreements don’t affect each nations domestic policies, it only creates increased trade and relations among certain nations. This type of trading system complements multilateral trading.
What problem do trade agreements attempt to solve? An answer to this question is necessary to understand trade agreements. For years there was a consensus among economists that a trade agreement's fundamental role was to prevent the prisoner's dilemma that results from nations using trade policy to manipulate their terms of trade in their favor. But this consensus has been challenged by the possibility of other motives for trade protection that arise in the presence of imperfect competition. A government can also use trade policy to attract profits, employment, and firms within its borders. This variety of motives then raises the question of whether there exists a purpose for trade agreements distinct from that found in the perfectly competitive benchmark.
Comparing Power and Influence of WTO and OECD In the past two decades there has been a proliferation of associations and organizations in order to implement the interests of both private persons and governments at the bilateral, regional and global level in the course of the trade liberalization. The following essay will compare the power and influence of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Develpment (OECD), with regard to their member states, as well as their importance in the global trading system on the background of their institutional structure.
Bruner, Christopher M. “Hemispheric Integration and the Politics of Regionalism: The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).” The University of Miami Inter-American Law Review 33 (2002)
International trade has become one of the most important things to do for the economy of a country. There are two ways to do the agreement, bilateral trade and multilateral trade. The first one, bilateral trade is the trade happens between two people, groups or countries. The trade can be in political, economic, or military matters. On the other hand, multilateral trade is a free trade between two or more countries at the same time. This trade aim to promote, enhance, and regulate trade in equal manner.
International trading has had its delays and road blocks, which has created a number of problems for countries around the world. Countries, fighting with one another to get the better deal, create tariffs and taxes to maximize their profit. This fighting leads to bad relationships with competing countries, and the little producing countries get the short end of this stick. Regulations and organizations have been established to help everyone get the best deal, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), but not everyone wants help, especially from an organization that seems to help only the big countries and those they want to trade with. This paper will be discussing international trading with emphasis on national sovereignty, the World Trade Organization, and how the WTO impacts trading countries.
After the failed International Trade Organization, Rodrik discusses the Bretton Woods Agreement, the transition from the General Agreement on Tariffs and T...
In an increasingly globalised world, where international trade is constantly growing, the creation of free trade areas and the facilitation of trade are more and more at the centre of debate. It is generally believed that trade is beneficial as it allows countries to use their comparative advantage on specific products, leading to lower prices and greater choice for consumers; however, trade is often hindered by trade barriers such as tariffs and waiting times among others (OECD, 2005). The creation of a FTA offers a solution to these problems. Depending on the economic and political situation of the countries entering the agreement, a different model of free trade area might be chosen; for example, free trade areas where tariff barriers are abolished for member countries but no single policy on tariffs with external countries or custom unions that include a common policy on tariffs with non member countries. The most advanced trade bloc is currently the European Union, with a single market and currency and freedom of movement of people, goods, resources and capital (European Union 2013). But what is the impact of FTAs on member countries and the rest of the world?
The political force moved away from the painstakingly and time-consuming technique of multilateral tariff negotiations to smaller regional and bilateral provisions - the Regional Trade Agreement. In these arrangements; members accord preferential treatment , basically agreeing to liberalize the exchange of goods and services amongst each another giving regard to certain trade barriers. RTA is not the first-hand way of trade liberalization though. Initially, when multilateral trade discussions used to happen, two-sided and multiparty FTA”s filled the vacuum. There were restrictions from stringent and premeditated trade arrangements earlier, thus a lot of states are now moving towards freer trade for their own benefits.
Regional economic integration enhances political cooperation. Several group of nation can have significantly greater political influence than each nation would have by individually. This integration is an essential strategy to address the effects or issues of conflicts and political instability that may affect the region. Improved political cooperation due to regional economic integration is also useful tool to handle the social and economic challenges associated with globalization. Countries which are link together will be more dependent on each other that will reduce the likelihood of violent conflict between each nation. This integration will also give countries greater political clout when dealing