‘New-Age’ Preferential Trade Agreements and Global Value Chains: An Empirical Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 097215092110068
Author(s):  
Kalpana Tokas

This article analyses the impact of the ‘depth’ of new-age preferential trade agreements (PTAs) signed by nations on value-added trade as well as trade in final and intermediate goods carried out between them. This objective of this article goes beyond the black-boxing of a PTA through a dummy and aims to focus on the ‘depth’ of a PTA as measured by its provisions and content. For this purpose, we construct an intensive panel data set. The data set spans across 6 years (3-year intervals across 2000–2015) and is constructed on a dyadic (country pair) level for 61 countries and 110 PTAs across the world, using the Trade in Valued Added (TiVA) Database from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Content of Deep Trade Agreements database from World Bank. Further, we construct two indices for measuring the ‘depth’ of the PTAs based on their content. Our study uses augmented gravity equation with three-way fixed effects, namely country pair, exporter time and importer time, for estimating the results. Our results indicate that the ‘depth’ of a PTA significantly affects trade in final goods, intermediate goods and value-added trade, and the impact is highest for trade in value added. We also observe that PTA with greater number of provisions has a higher impact on trade in final goods, intermediate goods as well as trade in value added.

2022 ◽  
pp. 097215092110619
Author(s):  
Kalpana Tokas

The past three decades witnessed a simultaneous proliferation in the number of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) and the network of global value chains (GVCs). The rise in the number of PTAs has been accompanied by inclusion of ‘deeper’ provisions such as services, competition, intellectual property rights (IPR), etc. This study aims to explain the differential impact PTA ‘depth’ on trade in value added as well as the heterogeneous results observed across industries based on their distinctive characteristics. For this purpose, an augmented gravity equation with three-way fixed effects is estimated, using a relatively newer dataset for the time period 2000-2015 for 64 countries. The results conclude that the PTA ‘depth’ determined by nontariff and ‘behind-the-border’ provisions leads to greater participation of member countries in GVCs. Furthermore, it is shown that value added trade for a sector like automotive, which has higher product differentiation, intra-industry trade, IPR and FDI linkages is most impacted by the PTA ‘depth’.


Author(s):  
Echandi Roberto

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.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-78
Author(s):  
Sulaman Hafeez Siddiqui ◽  
Muhammad Zafarullah ◽  
Muhammad Ijaz Latif ◽  
Ghulam Shabir

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to postulate the impact of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) on internationalization strategies of member countries’ firms. The study also aims to triangulate the proposed model using empirical data from PTA partner economies. Design/methodology/approach – The mixed methods research design is used for the purpose of inquiry as suggested by Creswell. The inductive reasoning based on critical literature review and grounded theory methodology is used to postulate the model. Explanatory strength of the model is triangulated using empirical longitudinal trade data of Pakistan with her bilateral PTA partners, i.e. Malaysia, Mauritius, Iran, Sri Lanka and China. Internationalization indices are adapted following the Ietto-Gillies and London (2009) and Petri (1994) to measure the intensity and geographical diversification dimensions of internationalization. Country-level trade statistics are used as a proxy of firm-level data to explain the international expansion of home firms resulting from PTAs. Findings – Empirical results confirm a strong and long-term impact of PTAs on the intensity and extensity dimensions of internationalization over post-agreement period in Pakistan and member economies. Gravity index depicts greater concentration of Pakistan's trade in FTA markets and thereby confirms the influence of PTAs on international market selection. Analysis at sectoral level depicts a contraction in services trade whereas expansion in the manufacturing firms’ export growth to member economies. Originality/value – The paper extends the theory of internationalization by identifying PTAs as exogenous variable influencing internationalization strategies of member countries’ firms in a developing South Asian context. Coupled with findings from empirical data, the study identifies PTAs as a new strategic trade policy tool available to policy makers for promoting and influencing the home firms’ internationalization strategies.


Addiction ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 115 (7) ◽  
pp. 1277-1284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Schram ◽  
Emma Aisbett ◽  
Belinda Townsend ◽  
Ronald Labonté ◽  
Fran Baum ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nken Moise

This dissertation studies the effect of continual reduction in the tariff bindings and its implications on the static and dynamic formation of preferential trade agreements (PTAs). Underlying trade model is a three country \competing exporters" model. First, utilizing a static game of endogenous trade agreement formation between three countries, we examine the effects of continual reduction in tariff bindings on the role of PTA formation in attaining global free trade. We show that, in the free trade agreement (FTA) formation game, when countries are completely symmetric, free trade always obtains as the coalition-proof Nash equilibrium (CPNE) of the FTA game. Under the customs union (CU) game, CU members exercise an exclusion incentive and free trade fails to be a CPNE. When countries are asymmetric with respect to their comparative advantage, the country with a weaker comparative advantage has an incentive to free ride on trade liberalization of the two others and continual reduction in tariff bindings facilitates FTA formation in attaining global free trade. Next, we employ a three country dynamic model of PTA formation where countries form PTAs over time and investigate the impact of multilateral tariff binding liberalization on the equilibrium extent of FTA and CU formation in isolation. When forming FTAs under relatively high tariff bindings, a myopic free riding incentive of FTA non-members constrains FTA formation. Thus, tariff binding liberalization can facilitate FTA expansion to global free trade. However, when forward looking countries do not value this myopic free riding incentive, tariff binding liberalization can impede FTA expansion to global free trade. In our CU game, CU formation proceeds to global free trade only for relatively high tariff bindings. Finally, we examine the PTA game where countries endogenously choose between CU and FTA formation. Under such a game, we show that the equilibrium emergence of CUs can prevent global free trade that would otherwise occur through FTAs. In contrast, the equilibrium emergence of FTAs can facilitate global free trade that would otherwise not occur through CUs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Nicolás Pose

North-South Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) are an intensified version of the Uruguay round’s bargain, in which developing countries gain access to developed countries’ markets, expecting increase in inflows of foreign direct investment, but see their ‘policy space’ reduced (Shadlen, 2005). Focusing on United States’ PTAs in the Latin American region, this article seeks to answer why some Latin American countries found this bargain attractive while others did not. I argue that modern PTAs generate uncertainty over their costs and benefits, because there are not standardized tools to estimate the impact of the ‘trade-related’ provisions they include. As a result, policymakers turn to their general ideas about economic development, which assign different meanings to them, producing differing decisions. Empirically, it is shown that the argument complements previous explanations based on structural and societal variables.


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