scholarly journals Services liberalization in the new generation of preferential trade agreements (PTAs): how much further than the GATS?

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARTIN ROY ◽  
JUAN MARCHETTI ◽  
HOE LIM
Keyword(s):  
Active Role ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
The United States ◽  
Preferential Trade Agreements ◽  
Economic Costs ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Preferential Trade ◽  
Mode 3 ◽  
New Generation

AbstractThis paper attempts to fill a gap in the trade literature by providing a comprehensive overview of services liberalization commitments in the new generation of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) as compared to prevailing GATS commitments and Doha Round offers. The paper reviews the commitments undertaken by 36 WTO Members (counting the EC as one) under mode 1 (cross-border supply) and mode 3 (commercial presence) in 32 PTAs negotiated since 2000. Among other things, the results suggest that, overall, PTA commitments tend to go significantly beyond GATS offers. Countries that have signed PTAs with the United States have made spectacular improvements, but GATS+ commitments are not limited to such agreements. The paper also discusses the potential economic costs arising from these preferential agreements and implications for the role of GATS and for multilateral services negotiations. The paper concludes by exploring possible approaches to overcome the downsides of services PTAs, including suggestions for a more pro-active role for the WTO in the surveillance of these agreements.

Preferential Trade Agreements as Stumbling Blocks for Multilateral Trade Liberalization: Evidence for the United States

2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 896-914 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuno Limão
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Trade Liberalization ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
The United States ◽  
Preferential Trade Agreements ◽  
Detailed Data ◽  
Preferential Trade ◽  
Multilateral Trade ◽  
Multilateral Trade Liberalization ◽  
Tariff Reductions

Most countries are members of preferential trade agreements (PTAs). The effect of these agreements has attracted much interest and raised the question of whether PTAs promote or slow multilateral trade liberalization, i.e., whether they are a “building block” or “stumbling block” to multilateral liberalization. Despite this long-standing concern with PTAs and the lack of theoretical consensus, there is no systematic evidence on whether they are actually a stumbling block to multilateral liberalization. We use detailed data on U.S. multilateral tariffs to provide the first systematic evidence that the direct effect of PTAs was to generate a stumbling block to its MTL. We also provide evidence of reciprocity in multilateral tariff reductions.

Part I Investment Treaties and the Settlement of Investment Disputes: The Framework, 1 Bilateral Investment Treaties and Investment Provisions in Preferential Trade Agreements: Recent Developments in Investment Rule-making

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Echandi Roberto
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
International Investment ◽  
Preferential Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade ◽  
Investment Protection ◽  
Investment Treaties ◽  
New Generation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Rule Making

This chapter argues that investment disputes, particularly those that have arisen in the context of the implementation of NAFTA, have influenced the refinement of the provisions of new generation international investment agreements (IIAs) as well as the inclusion of a series of procedural and substantive innovations. It addresses the main distinction between BITs and investment chapters in preferential trade agreements (PTAs), focusing on the evolution of their respective rationales. It looks at the main features of the new generation of IIAs and explains how such features respond to challenges derived from the interpretation of substantive and procedural provisions included in previous agreements. The discussion is organized under two themes: (i) moving from the original exclusive focus on investment protection towards also promoting liberalization of investment flows; and (ii) the impact of investor-state dispute settlement on investment rule-making.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership: The Challenges of Unraveling the Noodle Bowl

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Elms
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Market Access ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
The United States ◽  
Preferential Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade

Abstract Much has been made of the “spaghetti or noodle bowl” problem of overlapping preferential trade agreements (PTA). A new PTA, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), currently under negotiation between eleven states – Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam – is intended to help address this issue. The TPP will lower or eliminate barriers to trade among the partners. But officials are not operating in a vacuum as they negotiate this new agreement. Instead, they must contend with rules created in previous agreements, many of which link TPP partners together in ways that constrain their options now. This article looks in detail at negotiations over market access in goods to better understand the tradeoffs faced by negotiators. Unfortunately, some of the decisions made so far after three years of talks suggest that the TPP market access deal could end up being just another twisted noodle in a crowded bowl.

scholarly journals Transatlantic convergence of preferential trade agreements environmental clauses

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 621-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Frédéric Morin ◽  
Myriam Rochette
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
The United States ◽  
Preferential Trade Agreements ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Policy Coherence ◽  
Preferential Trade ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Cooperative Approach

AbstractThe United States and the European Union include several environmental clauses in their respective preferential trade agreements (PTAs). Building on an exhaustive and fine-grained dataset of PTAs’ environmental clauses, this article makes two contributions. First, it shows that the United States and the European Union have initially favored different approaches to environmental protection in their PTAs. The United States’ concerns over regulatory sovereignty and level playing field have led to a legalistic and adversarial approach, while the European Union's concerns for policy coherence have led to a more procedural and cooperative approach. Second, this article provides evidence that European and American trade negotiators have gradually converged on a shared set of environmental norms. Although the United States and the European Union initially pursued different objectives, they learned from each other and drew similar lessons. As a result, recent American agreements have become more European-like, and European agreements have become more Americanized. This article concludes that U.S. and E.U. approaches, far from being incompatible, can usefully be combined and reinforce each other.

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