scholarly journals World Trade Report 2011. The WTO and Preferential Trade Agreements: From Co-Existence to Coherence by World Trade OrganizationGeneva: World Trade Organization, 2011

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-339
Author(s):  
Pravin Krishna ◽  
Edward D. Mansfield ◽  
James H. Mathis
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade

Challenged in Geneva: WTO Litigation Experience and the Design of Preferential Trade Agreements

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Simon Wüthrich ◽  
Manfred Elsig
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Disputes ◽  
Preferential Trade ◽  
Multilateral Trade ◽  
Track Record ◽  
The World

Abstract What explains the design of international institutions? Existing research has largely neglected how experience in cooperation in one set of international institutions impacts on design choices made by states in other globally-oriented institutions. We contribute to this evolving debate by analyzing spillovers in experience in international trade. We argue that countries' track record of interaction in multilateral trade disputes affects the design of their preferential trade agreements (PTAs). If a country participates in a complaint against a prospective PTA partner at the World Trade Organization (WTO), the challenge in Geneva alerts the defendant's import-competing industries with respect to potential challenges under the planned PTA. As a result, these industries exert pressure on their government to preserve leeway under the future treaty, leading to increased flexibility and a lower level of enforcement in the PTA. We find support for our hypotheses in an empirical analysis of 347 PTAs concluded post 1990.

The Content of Preferential Trade Agreements

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
CLAUDIA HOFMANN ◽  
ALBERTO OSNAGO ◽  
MICHELE RUTA
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade Agreements ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Preferential Trade ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights Protection ◽  
Property Rights Protection ◽  
Detailed Assessment

AbstractPreferential trade agreements are an important feature of the global trade system. Several questions, ranging from the rationale for preferential arrangements to their impact on members, non-members and the broader multilateral trade system, are at the forefront of academic and policy debates in trade policy. This paper presents a new database that offers a detailed assessment of the content of preferential arrangements, examining the coverage and legal enforceability of provisions regulating a large set of policy areas. The database provides information on 279 agreements signed by 189 countries between 1958 and 2015. The analysis of the data confirms one of the key insights in the literature: preferential trade agreements are becoming deeper over time. A growing number of these treaties regulate an extended set of policies, frequently with legally enforceable provisions, in areas under the current World Trade Organization mandate and in areas outside the current World Trade Organization mandate, especially competition policy, investment, movements of capital, and intellectual property rights protection. Accounting for the changing scope of preferential trade agreements is essential to gain a more complete and accurate understanding of where the global trading system is going and how its governance can be improved.

Energy Pricing Policies and the International Trade Regime

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-141
Author(s):  
Tom S H Moerenhout
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade ◽  
Trade Regime ◽  
Pricing Policies ◽  
Energy Pricing ◽  
The World

ABSTRACT Energy subsidy and pricing reform is widely heralded as a necessity to transition to sustainable development and keep global warming below 2°C. Energy pricing policies and subsidies are also at the heart of the energy–trade–climate nexus, but progress has been slow within the international trade regime. This is unlike other international organizations or networks, where progress has been more substantial. This article investigates the lack of legitimacy to regulate or coordinate pricing reform and links it to fundamentally divergent interests between fuel producers and importers. The article discusses the regulatory and coordinative potential of the World Trade Organization and preferential trade agreements. It finds that at the World Trade Organization, the Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, the Anti-Dumping Agreement, case law, Ricardian theory, and negotiation history all preempt the consideration of most pricing policies as subsidies. As a result, subsidy notification within the World Trade Organization is low and while other options for improving transparency via the Committee on Trade and Environment and Trade Policy Review Mechanism have been suggested, not much has actually happened because producers protect their comparative advantage. Therefore, support for fuel pricing reform remains on a general level via Ministerial Statements or through general provisions in preferential trade agreements that reconfirm the G-20 and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation commitments to fuel subsidy reform. The only real advancement has been made within bilateral trade negotiations where heavyweights such as the European Union can push trading partners to abandon dual pricing policies.

Regulating Cross-Border Data Flows in a Data-Driven World: How WTO Law Can Contribute

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-416
Author(s):  
Andrew D Mitchell ◽  
Neha Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade Agreements ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Digital Inclusion ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Data Flows ◽  
The World

Abstract While the free cross-border movement of data is essential to many aspects of international trade, several countries have imposed restrictions on these data flows. The pre-internet rules of the World Trade Organization (`WTO') discipline some of these restrictions, but they are insufficient. Unfortunately, so are the electronic commerce chapters in modern preferential trade agreements. This article argues that reformed WTO rules, which take account of the policy challenges of the data-driven economy, are required. These reforms would facilitate internet openness while ensuring consumer and business trust, promoting digital inclusion of developing countries, and incorporating clear exceptions for legitimate domestic policies.

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