Trade Policy, Health, and Corporate Influence: British American Tobacco and China's Accession to the World Trade Organization

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Holden ◽  
Kelley Lee ◽  
Anna Gilmore ◽  
Gary Fooks ◽  
Nathaniel Wander
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Small World ◽  
Round Table ◽  
The United States ◽  
Foreign Competition ◽  
Chinese Market ◽  
British American Tobacco ◽  
Corporate Influence ◽  
The World

Tobacco market liberalization can have a profound impact on health. This article analyzes internal documents of British American Tobacco (BAT), released as a result of litigation in the United States, in order to examine the company's attempts to influence negotiations over China's accession to the World Trade Organization. The documents demonstrate that BAT attempted to influence these negotiations through a range of mechanisms, including personal access of BAT employees and lobbyists to policymakers; employment of former civil servants from key U.K. government departments; use of organized business groups such as the Multinational Chairmen's Group and the European Round Table; and participation and leadership in forums organized by Chatham House. These processes contributed to significant concessions on the liberalization of the tobacco market in China, although the failure to break the Chinese state monopoly over the manufacture and distribution of cigarettes has ensured that foreign tobacco companies' share of the Chinese market has remained small. World Trade Organization accession has nevertheless led to a profound restructuring of the Chinese tobacco industry in anticipation of foreign competition, which may result in more market-based and internationally oriented Chinese tobacco firms.

scholarly journals India – Measures Affecting the Automotive Sector

2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (S1) ◽  
pp. 158-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Bagwell ◽  
Alan O. Sykes
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
The United States ◽  
Balance Of Payments ◽  
Automotive Sector ◽  
The World ◽  
The Subject

This study addresses the disputes brought to the World Trade Organization (WTO) by the European Communities and the United States concerning certain Indian measures affecting the importation of automobiles and components in the form of “completely knocked down” (CKD) and “semi-knocked down” (SKD) kits. The measures in question originated during a time when India employed extensive import licensing requirements, ostensibly for balance of payments purposes. India’s broad licensing regime was challenged in 1997 by the European Communities and the United States, resulting in a settlement with the European Communities and a ruling in favor of the United States pursuant to which India agreed to abolish its import licensing system. Some restrictions in the automotive sector remained, however,which became the subject of this proceeding.

scholarly journals The Political Economy of the Chinese Market Economy Status given by Argentina and Brazil

Revista CS ◽  
2014 ◽  
pp. 47-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Urdinez
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
World Trade ◽  
The Political ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Chinese Market ◽  
The World ◽  
Status Recognition

When China signed a Protocol of Accession to the World Trade Organization in December 2001, other country members were allowed to consider China as a Non-Market Economy until the end of 2016. Taking into account this restraint, the aim of this paper is to answer the following question: can the Market Economy Status Recognition (MES) be measured by a de-facto compliance? The variable used to measure the compliance is the number of antidumping investigations initiated by each country. Hence, the countries which recognize China as a market economy would have a fewer antidumping investigations than the countries that are still treating Beijing as a Non Market Economy, which is the key reason of why the Chinese Government has been campaigning vigorously since 2001 to gain a MES status by a larger number of its economic partners.

scholarly journals Tariff At Risk: Can The Florida Citrus Industry Survive?

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith L. Kolva ◽  
Joseph Heinzman, Jr. ◽  
Yvonne Puente
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
Orange Juice ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Free Trade Area ◽  
Foreign Competition ◽  
Citrus Industry ◽  
Trade Area ◽  
The World ◽  
Florida Citrus ◽  
Foreign Competitor

For over 70 years, the Florida citrus industry has been protected from foreign competition by a tariff on orange juice. The orange juice tariff is currently being threatened by negotiations over the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Brazil is the leading foreign competitor to the Florida citrus industry. The tariff prevents Brazil from becoming a large citrus cartel that could take control of the worlds orange juice market. The Florida citrus industry contributes $9.1 billion to Floridas economy and provides jobs for 90,000 Florida citizens. Orange juice production is a key to the strength of Floridas economy. Florida citrus growers argue that the tariff is the most important issue facing the industrys survival. Without the tariff, Florida citrus growers are in danger of going out of business. This could devastate Floridas economy. It is important that Florida citrus growers and FTAA negotiators unite and intensify efforts to protect the citrus tariff and ensure the survival of Floridas citrus industry.

scholarly journals The (in)effectiveness of the decisions Of the world trade organization in the analysis of the negative impacts of the New economic policy for u.s. agriculture

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 1827-1840
Author(s):  
Flávio Marcelo Rodrigues Bruno
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Policy ◽  
International Trade ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Upland Cotton ◽  
The United States ◽  
The World ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The U.S

The present research has as its thematic approach, the (in) effectiveness of the decisions of the international commercial court from the recent economic policies for agriculture in the United States in relation to the determinations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the litigation on the granting of subsidies to cotton – Upland Cotton. It is the pretension of this research, to delimit the study of the subject in the sense of demonstrating that the United States continued to have negative impacts on the international market, even though they were defeated in the litigation against Brazil in the WTO Dispute Settlement Body. In the litigation of cotton subsidies – Upland Cotton, Brazil and the United States enter into controversy regarding the granting of this instrument of economic policy by the U.S. government to an industry in which Brazil has comparative advantages and competitive production, especially in international trade. The WTO ruling on the case has proved that the U.S. economic policy on the use of subsidies, in particular those granted to agriculture, constitute a protectionist practice that interferes negatively with international trade. An interdisciplinary legal analysis from the economic and political point of view is essential in the context of international trade relations that have a profound impact on U.S. trade policy practices.

scholarly journals United States – Countervailing Measures Concerning Certain Products from the European Communities (WTO Doc. WT/DS212/AB/R): Recurring Misunderstanding of Non-Recurring Subsidies

2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (S1) ◽  
pp. 78-87
Author(s):  
Gene M. Grossman ◽  
Petros C. Mavroidis
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Department ◽  
States Department ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
The World ◽  
Countervailing Duties ◽  
The Impact

In United States – Countervailing Measures Concerning Certain Products from the European Communities (WTO Doc. WT/DS212/QB/R, henceforth Certain Products), the Appellate Body (AB) of the World Trade Organization was called upon to revisit the issue of whether the United States can legally impose countervailing duties following the privatization of state-owned enterprises that had received non-recurring subsidies. In twelve cases, the United States Department of Commerce (USDOC) had applied either the “gamma method” or the “same-person method” in assessing the impact of a change of ownership on the continued existence of a benefit from a countervailable subsidy. The European Communities challenged the legality of these methods.

United States Moves Forward with Tariffs and Requests WTO Consultations in Response to Certain Trade Practices by China

2018 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-510
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
The United States ◽  
The World ◽  
Trading Partners ◽  
Trump Administration

Trade tensions between the United States and China have escalated under the Trump administration. Some of this tension has resulted from the steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the United States on most of its trading partners in the spring of 2018. Another major source of conflict relates to President Trump's concerns with China's perceived unfair practices in relation to intellectual property and technology rights. The Trump administration has addressed these concerns both by pursuing unilateral responses and seeking relief through the World Trade Organization (WTO).

U.S. Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum Imports Go into Effect, Leading to Trade Disputes

2018 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 499-504 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
The United States ◽  
Trade Disputes ◽  
The World ◽  
Implementation Period ◽  
Domestic Law

Consistent with President Trump's America First trade agenda, his administration imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in early March of 2018, triggering various responses and challenges. Countries have followed through on early objections to the tariffs through retaliatory tariffs and challenges in the World Trade Organization (WTO), and steel importers have challenged the legality of these tariffs under U.S. domestic law. At the same time, these tariffs have been revised multiple times, either to delay the implementation period for certain countries seeking exemptions or to permanently grant exemptions to countries who reached negotiated arrangements with the United States.

scholarly journals FORUM SHOPPING EVIDENCE IN THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION: A SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS OF DISPUTES BETWEEN MEMBER STATES

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-194
Author(s):  
Kenyth Alves de Freitas ◽  
Bruno de Almeida Vilela ◽  
Rui Fernando Correia Ferreira ◽  
André Edson Ribeiro de Souza Aprigio
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
The United States ◽  
Emerging Countries ◽  
Central American ◽  
Forum Shopping ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The World ◽  
Trading Partners

The intensification of trade between countries has led to the need to regulate the conduct of trading partners. The World Trade Organization (WTO) forum emerged with the mission of arbitrating these disputes and making trade fairer. However, many countries choose not to participate in this forum because of the financial and legal resources required to conduct the proceedings. The purpose of this research was to verify how the relations within the WTO were configurated in 2014. We identified the dichotomy between central and emerging countries through the concept of forum shopping. The most important actors in the network were shown to be the United States and the European Union, whereas small economies had low participation, especially African and Central American countries. Thus, this study shows that many WTO’s members do not use its forum, which allows inferring they choose regional forums due to the restriction of resources.

BEIJING JEEP AT A CROSSROADS: FACING THE CHALLENGE OF CHINA'S ENTRY INTO THE WTO

2001 ◽  
Vol 05 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael N. Young ◽  
Justin Tan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Joint Venture ◽  
The United States ◽  
Direct Impact ◽  
Preferential Treatment ◽  
Short Life ◽  
Chinese Enterprise ◽  
The World

Beijing Jeep Corporation (BJC) was founded in 1984 as one of the first and largest joint venture between an American company (American Motors Corporation) and a Chinese enterprise. Early in its operation, BJC had been given preferential treatment on tariffs and foreign exchange. Since over forty percent of the content of BJC was produced in China, it had operated as a local manufacturer under heavy protection from imports for all of its short life. All this appeared to be on the brink of changing when trade negotiators for the United States and China announced, after thirteen years of on and off negotiations, the agreement on the terms for China's entry into the World Trade Organization. The terms of the agreement called for a steep reduction in tariffs for imported automobiles from nearly one hundred percent to twenty-five percent by 2006. This would have a direct impact on BJC performance. The case focuses on the strategic challenges facing companies in the changing trade and economic environment.

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