Proliferation of Free Trade Agreements and Some Systemic Issues - In Relation to the WTO Disciplines and Development Perspectives

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitsuo Matsushita ◽  
Y.S. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Major Part ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Trading System ◽  
The World ◽  
Common Interests

In recent decades, free trade agreements have been proliferated and have become a major part of the global trading system, along with the multilateral framework represented by the World Trade Organizations. This article discusses some of the major issues with FTA in relation to the WTO disciplines and also examines their implications for developing countries from the perspective of economic development. A global FTA network is proposed as a means to coordinate different, often conflicting rules among different FTAs and to promote common interests and concerns of developing countries.

scholarly journals Free Trade Agreements: WTO and ASEAN Implications

2004 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 95-111
Author(s):  
Jose L. Tongzon
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Negotiations ◽  
Multilateral Trade ◽  
The World ◽  
Asean Countries

The World Trade Organization (WTO) (formerly GATT) was established primarily to achieve free trade across the globe based on the principle of non-discrimination and the process of multilateral trade negotiations. The fact that most countries are members of WTO reflects the worldwide belief in the benefits of a global free trade. Despite its achievements since the first round of multilateral trade negotiations was held, the effectiveness of the process has been called into question. Most WTO members are now proposing new regional trading arrangements (RTAs), such as free trade agreements (FTAs). What implication does these RTAs have for the WTO and ASEAN countries? Should ASEAN countries give regionalism priority over the WTO-based multilateral approach? To answer this questions, this paper will first summarize the motivations behind the formation of RTAs before presenting the merits and demerits of RTAs as an approach to achieve universal free trade and maximize developing countries' welfare. It is argued that despite its inherent limitations it is important for ASEAN countries to remain primarily committed to the principles of WTO and the process of multilateral trade negotiations.

scholarly journals Glossary on free trade agreements and health part 1: the shift from multilateralism and the rise of ‘WTO-Plus’ provisions

2021 ◽  
pp. jech-2020-215104
Author(s):  
Courtney L McNamara ◽  
Ronald Labonte ◽  
Ashley Schram ◽  
Belinda Townsend
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Trading System ◽  
Multilateral Trade ◽  
The World ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
Key Terms

The global trading system has undergone a shift away from multilateral trade negotiations to a ‘spaghetti-bowl’ of regional and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs). In this two-part glossary, we discuss why this shift has occurred, focusing on how it poses new challenges for public health. Specifically, we introduce key terms that shape this new trading environment and explain them through a public health lens. Part 1 of this glossary focuses on provisions in FTAs that build on previous agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO). These provisions are commonly designated as ‘WTO-Plus’. This approach continues into part 2 of the glossary, which also considers components of FTAs that have no precedent within WTO treaties. Following a broader discussion of how the current political context and the COVID-19 pandemic shape the contemporary trade environment, part 2 considers the main areas of trade and health policy incoherence as well as recommendations to address them.

Free Trade Agreements in the World Trade System: Substance and Semantics

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-20
Author(s):  
Prema-chandra Athukorala
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
Trading System ◽  
Jel Codes ◽  
The Past ◽  
Economic Rationale ◽  
The World

Over the past three decades, free trade agreements (FTAs) have become an integral and enduring part of the global trading system. The number of FTAs notified to the World Trade Organization increased from 19 in 1990 to 292 by January 2019.1 However, debate on the economic case for following the FTA path as an alternative to multilateral and unilateral trade liberalisation is far from settled. The purpose of this note is to assess key themes of this policy debate. The focus is solely on the economic rationale of FTAs, even though political considerations play a key role in the proliferation of FTAs. JEL Codes: F13, F15, F55

scholarly journals From Preferential Trade Arrangements to Free Trade Agreements: One of the Downturns of Cooperation in International Relations?

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Jaime Baena-Rojas ◽  
Susana Herrero-Olarte
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Tariff Preference ◽  
Preferential Trade ◽  
Trading Partners

Since the signing of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO), preferential trade agreements (PTAs) have been an interesting tool to promote international cooperation through the granting of non-reciprocal and/or unilateral tariff preferences by developed countries to developing countries. These international agreements have tended to generate critical trade dependencies for the receiving countries. Due to the circumstances of world trade and due to the lack of interest of the grantors to maintain this type of tariff preference, these developing countries are forced to renegotiate their PTAs into to free trade agreements (FTAs). To demonstrate this, we conducted a qualitative analysis to characterize the behavior of PTAs and their impact on the configuration of FTAs and to obtain indicators and trends. The results suggested a predominance of FTAs and a decline in PTAs. This was done to maintain access to the markets within those granting countries, which also became the main trading partners of these PTA recipient countries.

scholarly journals Bilateral Agreements and Fair Trade Practices: A Policy Analysis of the Colombia-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (2006)

Con-texto ◽  
2015 ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Kevin J. Fandl
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Fair Trade ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
The World ◽  
Bilateral Approach

<p>This article brings to the attention of those public servants involved in the design and negotiation of free trade agreements between the United States and developing countries, such as Colombia, the potential benefits and drawbacks of negotiating in a bilateral forum. Rather than critiquing the free trade agreement for its particular provisions, this article examines the U.S. policy of negotiating bilaterally with developing countries as opposed to multilaterally in the world trade system and what effects such an approach might have on the economic development of the latter. Using an incremental policy analysis, the article critiques the bilateral approach in terms of economic development and fair trade negotiations using the recent Colombia-U.S. trade agreement as a case study. The article concludes that a bilateral approach that is disconnected from a broader multilateral context may be detrimental to developing countries and recommends increased oversight of such agreements by the World Trade Organization to ensure a higher degree of fairness.</p>

scholarly journals Mobility Norms in Free Trade Agreements

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flavia Jurje ◽  
Sandra Lavenex
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Lower Sensitivity ◽  
Labour Mobility ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
The World ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Migrants Rights

Abstract Notwithstanding their traditional attachment to sovereignty, Southeast and East Asian countries have embraced a dynamic agenda of labour mobility liberalisation through trade agreements. This article assesses the free movement agenda within ASEAN from a multi-level perspective, comparing it to ASEAN countries’ corresponding commitments within the World Trade Organisation’s General Agreement on Trade in Services and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) concluded as a group or individually with non-ASEAN countries. Contrary to other trade aspects it turns out that intra-regional commitments within ASEAN do not significantly exceed multilateral ones, and score below the level of liberalisation achieved in ASEAN+ and bilateral FTAs. This article interprets this discrepancy as a consequence of strong economic and labour market differences among ASEAN members as well as the lower sensitivity of allegedly technocratic FTAs for considerations of national sovereignty. The article concludes with the limits of this trade policy approach for migration governance and migrants’ rights.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership’s patent linkage: Unfriending or befriending the right to biologics?

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-68
Author(s):  
Zeleke Temesgen Boru
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
The World ◽  
The Right ◽  
Patent Linkage

The World Trade Organization brought Intellectual Property Rights into the multilateral trading system. The adoption of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which formed part of the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, established a minimum level of protection with respect to various forms of Intellectual Property Rights. However, in the aftermath of its adoption, several Free Trade Agreements, which include Intellectual Property Rights provisions of different potency, have come into existence. These Free Trade Agreements have given rise to what is commonly known as TRIPS-plus IP provisions. The provisions may renege on States’ obligation to promote access to biologics, medicines which are derived from proteins through biotechnological process. In this light, one recent Free Trade Agreement is the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, which requires its Parties to implement a number of TRIPS-plus obligations, including data exclusivity and patent linkage. Against the aforementioned backdrop, this article focuses on patent linkage and explores whether the provision allows the Trans-Pacific Partnership Parties to utilize TRIPS flexibilities to promote the right to biologics. In doing so, the article provides potential responses to the question, does patent linkage deter the realization of the right to biologic? With the purpose to do so, while the first section provides a concise introduction into the agreement, the second section discusses the TRIPS standard on patent. While the third part demonstrates the nature of obligations enshrined in the Trans-Pacific Partnership’s rule on patent linkage, the fourth section investigates the obligations’ implication on the right to biologics. The last section provides the conclusion.

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