Services Negotiations in the Doha Round: Promise and Reality

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 1850059
Author(s):  
J. Robert Vastine
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
Trade Liberalization ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Executive Branch ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Doha Round ◽  
Services Trade ◽  
The Us

The paper analyzes the state of play in the negotiations and the challenges facing meaningful services trade liberalization in the Doha Round. In tracing the treatment of services in the WTO, the reasons are examined for the success of the 1997 financial and telecommunications services negotiations and how those negotiations marked the entry of services companies and associations as advocates for services liberalization in the WTO. High expectations for substantial reductions in barriers to services trade emerged from the 1997 negotiations, but thus far remain unfulfilled. In the Doha Round the quality of offers has been poor and little progress has been made primarily because many WTO Members cannot perceive the economic benefits of trade liberalization. It is argued that this Round’s success is contingent upon the ability of the developed countries to respond to the legitimate concerns of the developing countries. However, too much attention has been given to trying to find a formula for services liberalization and not enough on hard bilateral bargaining. After analyzing various proposals put forth to jumpstart the talks, the paper suggests grouping key WTO Members and identifying “incentives that will motivate those groups.” The countries of greatest interest to the United States can be divided into three groups. Offers in agriculture, temporary entry, and emergency safeguards would appeal to each of these and provide a basis for progress. It is concluded that “a Doha Round that does not contain substantial benefits for services is a Round that will have failed” and will not have industry support if it is to be implemented by the US Congress. J. Robert Vastine is the President of US Coalition of Service Industries (CSI) in Washington, DC. Prior to joining the CSI, he served as President of the Congressional Economic Leadership Institute, a bi-partisan, non-profit foundation that helps educate Congress on issues affecting US economic competitiveness. His extensive Capitol Hill experience includes posts as Staff Director of the Senate Republican Conference, Minority Staff Director of the Senate Committee on Government Affairs; Legislative Director for Senator John H. Chafee of Rhode Island; and Legislative Assistant for Congressman Thomas B. Curtis of Missouri. His Executive Branch experience includes service as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Trade and Raw Materials Policy and Vice President of the Oversight Board of the Resolution Trust Corporation, which was chaired by Secretaries of the Treasury Brady and Bentsen, and he has had extensive private-sector experience. Vastine is Chairman of the official Industry Trade Advisory Committee for International Trade in Services (ITAC 10), which advises the US Trade Representative. He was a fellow of the Institute of Politics of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and has written a number of articles on US trade policy. Vastine is a graduate of Haverford College and the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies.

scholarly journals The Influence of D. Trump’s Policy on International Trade

2019 ◽  
pp. 65-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. O. Chudinova
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
International Trade ◽  
Trade Deficit ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Trade Relations ◽  
Free Competition ◽  
The Us ◽  
Trade War

The increasing level of tension in the trade relations between the United States and other countries, especially China; the potential escalation of trade wars, when countries take more and more explicit retaliatory protectionist measures, becomes a sustainability risk to development of international trade. The US actions taken in 2018–2019 to protect the internal market turned into into a full-fledged trade war, directed primarily against China - the country the United States has the largest trade deficit with. The introduction of the US tariff restrictions on imports from China and several other countries has caused retaliatory measures, as a result the uncertainty of the prospects for international trade increases. Non-tariff measures, such as phytosanitary requirements and technical barriers to trade, have also seen an increase in restrictions.An important source of controversy is the different positions of countries regarding the permissible degree of state support for enterprises. Developed countries, especially the United States, Japan, and the countries of the European Union, have fairly rigidly regulated rules regarding free competition. A cause for great concern is not only the US trade war with China and its consequences for other countries, but also the problems of international trade regulation.

Agriculture: Food Security and Trade Liberalization

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Tangermann
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Trade Liberalization ◽  
Market Orientation ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
International Markets ◽  
Doha Round ◽  
Domestic Support ◽  
Agreement On Agriculture

In the WTO's Doha Round, agriculture is again at center stage, even though it accounts for no more than a small and declining share of world trade. The Agreement on Agriculture concluded in the Uruguay Round was a huge step forward in the GATT's dealings with agriculture. But more needs to be done. In recent years, agricultural support in several developing countries has increased while developed countries have reformed their farm policies and improved market orientation. One specific problem in the Doha Round negotiations on agriculture is the treatment of public stockholding for food security purposes. A possible solution could come through an amendment of the rules for measuring domestic support, by agreeing that procurement prices below prices prevailing on international markets are not considered "administered prices".

Lessons Learned from the Canada–China FIPA for the US–China BIT and beyond

2019 ◽  
pp. 116-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Dylan Dickson-Smith
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Investment ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Investment Protection ◽  
The Us ◽  
Investment Agreements

Key lessons can be made from analysing a unique and recent BIT, the Canada–China Foreign Investment Protection Agreement (FIPA), in order better to predict and identify the opportunities and challenges for potential BIT counterparties of China (such as the United States, the European Union (EU), India, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and Columbia). The Canada–China FIPA and the anticipated US–China BIT (and EU–China BIT) collectively fall into a unique class of investment agreements, in that they represent a convergence of diverse ideologies of international investment norms/protections with two distinct (East/West) underlying domestic legal and economic systems. The purpose of this chapter is to appreciate and utilize the legal content of the Canada–China FIPA in order to isolate the opportunities and challenges for investment agreements currently under negotiation (focusing on the US–China BIT). This analysis is conducted from the perspective of China’s traditional BIT practice and political–economic goals, relative to that of its counterparty. This chapter briefly addresses the economic and broader diplomatic relationship between China and Canada, comparing that with the United States. It then analyses a broad selection of key substantive and procedural obligations of the Canada–China FIPA, addressing their impact, individually and cumulatively, to extract what lessons can be learned for the United States (US) and other negotiating parties. This analysis identifies the degree of investment liberalization and legal protection that Canada and China have achieved, and whether these standards are reciprocally applied. The analysis is not divorced from the relevant political economy and negotiating position between China and the counterparty and the perceived economic benefits of each party, as well as any diplomatic sensitive obstacles between the parties. While this chapter does not exhaustively analyse each substantive and procedural right, it provides enough of a comprehensive basis to reveal those challenges that remain for future bilateral negotiations with China.

On the Legality of the United States Action of Terminating India’s GSP Status

2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-129
Author(s):  
R. Rajesh Babu
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
Generalized System Of Preferences ◽  
Wto Dispute Settlement ◽  
The Us ◽  
Developmental Opportunities ◽  
Enabling Clause

Since the US Presidential Proclamation terminating India status as a Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) beneficiary with effect from 5 June 2019, questions are raised on the WTO legitimacy of such an action. The US measure, which appears to have a punitive element—a move precipitated by lack of reciprocity from India by not providing ‘equitable and reasonable access’ for US products in Indian markets—challenges the fundamentally premise of the GSP schemes. Since the GSP schemes are established to provide economic and developmental opportunities for developing countries, and once established must be administered as per the 1979 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Enabling Clause, meaning it must be on a ‘generalised’, ‘non-reciprocal’ and ‘non-discriminatory’ basis, can India raise a legitimate challenge against the US action at the WTO Dispute Settlement Body? Or can the GSP schemes, being voluntary and unilaterally administered, be structured by developed countries as trade policy tools with stringent trade and non-trade conditionalities? The decision of the Appellate Body in European Communities—Tariff Preferences, the contested nature of the Enabling Clause and the heterogeneous nature of developing countries at the WTO makes the interpretation knotty. In this context, this article provides a brief comment on the legal basis of the Enabling Clause in the WTO framework and the legitimacy of the US action of termination of India from the beneficiary status. Keeping aside the legal question, the author is also of the view that time is ripe for India to consider ‘graduating’ itself from such preferential arrangements and engage in binding obligations that are reciprocal and sustainable. JEL Codes: K33, O24

The Potential Preventive Effects of Vitamins for Cataract and Age-Related Macular Degeneration

1999 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 198-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques
Keyword(s):  
Macular Degeneration ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Epidemiologic Studies ◽  
Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽  
Visual Disability ◽  
Epidemiologic Evidence ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Us ◽  
Nutritional Antioxidants

Age-related cataract and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are important public health problems. Approximately 50% of the 30 to 50 million cases of blindness worldwide result from unoperated cataract. In the US and other developed countries AMD is the leading cause of blindness, but age-related cataract remains the leading cause of visual disability. Age-related cataract and AMD represent an enormous economic burden. In the United States more than 1.3 million cataract extractions are performed annually at a cost of approximately $ 3.5 billion. Much of the experimental research on the etiology of cataract and AMD has focused on the role of nutritional antioxidants (vitamin C, vitamin E, and carotenoids). Evidence from epidemiologic studies support a role for nutritional antioxidants in delaying the onset of these age-related vision disorders. Although it is not yet possible to conclude that antioxidant nutrients have a role in prevention of cataract or AMD, a summary of the epidemiologic evidence suggests that it is prudent to consume diets high in vitamins C and E and carotenoids, particularly the xanthophylls, as insurance against the development of cataract and AMD.

Is a more multilateral trade policy possible?

2004 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 537-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wyn Grant
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Trade Negotiations ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
The Real ◽  
Princeton University ◽  
Side Payments ◽  
G 21 ◽  
The Us ◽  
Trade Conflicts

D.A. Irwin, Free Trade Under Fire (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002), 257 pp.F. Jawara and A. Kwa, Behind the Scenes at the WTO: The Real World of International Trade Negotiations (London, Zed Books, 2003), 329 pp.Amrita Narlikar, International Trade and Developing Countries: Bargaining Coalitions in the WTO (London, Routledge, 2003), 238 pp.American actions since the collapse of the trade talks at Cancún have suggested that trade conflicts can no longer be solved simply by a bilateral bargain with the EU that is then imposed, with a few side payments, on the other members of the WTO. The emergence of the G-21 (with its fluctuating membership) has at least opened up the possibility that trade negotiations may move away from the US–EU duopoly that has characterised them for so long towards a set of bargaining arrangements that are more multilateral. It may be that the real beneficiaries of these changes will be the emerging countries such as Brazil, China and India, all prominent in the leadership of the G-21, rather than the least developed countries. Thus, for example, opening up trade in sugar could benefit Brazil and harm Mauritius.

The Adverse Consequences of the Politics of Agency Design for Presidential Management in the United States: The Relative Durability of Insulated Agencies

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID E. LEWIS
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Executive Branch ◽  
Us Congress ◽  
The Us ◽  
Presidential Management ◽  
Agency Design ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Expected Duration

The US Congress has often sought to limit presidential influence over certain public policies by designing agencies that are insulated from presidential control. Whether or not insulated agencies persist over time has important consequences for presidential management. If those agencies that persist over time are also those that are the most immune from presidential direction, this has potentially fatal consequences for the president's ability to manage the executive branch. Modern presidents will preside over a less and less manageable bureaucracy over time. This article explains why agencies insulated from presidential control are more durable than other agencies and shows that they have a significantly higher expected duration than other agencies. The conclusion is that modern American presidents preside over a bureaucracy that is increasingly insulated from their control.

US protectionism would raise trade costs worldwide

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Trade Deficit ◽  
The United States ◽  
Final Demand ◽  
Services Trade ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
The Us ◽  
Commerce Department ◽  
Firing Line

Subject Exposure to US final demand. Significance The Commerce Department reported on March 7 that the US goods trade deficit widened to 69.7 billion dollars in January after a five-year high of 4% of GDP last year. The new administration has threatened to build a wall along the Mexican border, impose punitive tariffs on countries it runs a goods deficit with and label China a currency manipulator. Other countries also rely on US demand -- through goods and services trade, investment and remittances. Impacts In the unlikely event that Trump follows through on all his most extreme trade threats, the world could plunge into recession. Evidence does not support the new administration's view that free trade has damaged the US economy and the fortunes of its workforce. The WTO is reviewing several cases the previous US administration began against China -- extreme escalation could trigger US WTO withdrawal. Germany is the only G7 country that the United States runs both a goods and services trade deficit with, placing it in the firing line.

scholarly journals Failure to detect infection by oral polio vaccine virus following natural exposure among inactivated polio vaccine recipients

2007 ◽  
Vol 136 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. E. GARY ◽  
B. SMITH ◽  
J. JENKS ◽  
J. RUIZ ◽  
W. SESSIONS ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oral Polio Vaccine ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vaccine Virus ◽  
Susceptible Population ◽  
Inactivated Polio Vaccine ◽  
Polio Vaccine ◽  
Natural Exposure ◽  
The Us ◽  
Protection Against Infection

SUMMARYWhile oral polio vaccine (OPV) has been shown to be safe and effective, it has been observed that it can circulate within a susceptible population and revert to a virulent form. Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) confers protection from paralytic disease, but provides limited protection against infection. It is possible, then, that an IPV-immunized population, when exposed to OPV, could sustain undetected circulation of vaccine-derived poliovirus. This study examines the possibility of polio vaccine virus circulating within the United States (highly IPV-immunized) population that borders Mexico (OPV-immunized). A total of 653 stool and 20 sewage samples collected on the US side of the border were tested for the presence of poliovirus. All samples were found to be negative. These results suggest that the risk of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus is low in fully immunized IPV-using populations in developed countries that border OPV-using populations.

scholarly journals Countermeasures under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures: Between the Aircraft Manufacturing Industry and Society

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
Ida Bagus Mahawira Nawagani ◽  
Prita Amalia ◽  
Helitha Novianty Muchtar
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Complex Situation ◽  
Aircraft Manufacturing ◽  
The Us ◽  
Principle Of Proportionality ◽  
Private Actors ◽  
Second Category

Countermeasures under World Trade Organization (WTO) law are separated into two categories, remedies and a method to induce compliance after another defaulting state fails to adhere to WTO's panel recommendation. This article will focus on the second category. The term ‘countermeasures’ specifically refers to an act of suspension of concessions or other obligations. One case of granted countermeasures is DS316, a case between the United States of America (US) and the European Union (EU). The issue of this case is the subsidies granted by the EU for Airbus, an aircraft manufacturer based in Europe which consists of four European nations, which resulted in Boeing's market loss. The US then requested countermeasures authorisation by the WTO. Countermeasures are related to the principle of proportionality both under public international law and WTO law. Additionally, countermeasures can lead to a more complex situation since it affects the human rights of the private actors of international trade as a part of society. This article explains the implementation of both the countermeasures and the proportionality principle, and analyses the precedents of cases and the countermeasures granted by the WTO as well as the effects of the granted countermeasures to society as it creates barriers for all the international trade actors.

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