Does the WTO leave appropriate policy space to its Members to pursue legitimate objectives, such as the economic development of developing countries, the conversion to a greener economy, or recovery in times of a global economic downturn? This legal and normative analysis of the WTO rules on subsidies and countervailing measures sheds light on why governments resort to subsidization and, by tracing the historical origins of the SCM Agreement and the Agreement on Agriculture, on why they have been willing to gradually confine their policy space. This sets the stage for a systematic and comprehensive legal analysis of both agreements, which integrates the vast amount of case law and proposals tabled in the Doha round. A separate case study explores the complex rules on export credit support, and the book closes with an in-depth normative assessment of these WTO rules on subsidies and countervailing measures.
The Challenge of Safeguards in the WTO provides a comprehensive overview of the safeguard mechanism in the multilateral trading system. It explains at length its historical and conceptual foundations and elaborates on the various requirements for the imposition of safeguards and the conduct of safeguard investigations. The author draws on his practical experience in order to analyse WTO case law as developed by WTO panels and the Appellate Body and to provide practical suggestions for the resolution of various complex issues which have arisen in practice. He also considers the challenges faced by companies involved in this type of case.
Attempts at developing a theory of international investment law are complicated by the fact that this field of international law is based on numerous, largely bilateral treaties and is implemented by arbitral panels established on a case-by-case basis. This suggests a fragmented and chaotic state of the law, with different levels of protection depending on the sources and targets of foreign investment flows. This book, however, forwards the thesis that international investment law develops, despite its bilateral form, into a multilateral system of law that backs up the functioning of a global market economy based on converging principles of investment protection. In discussing the function of most-favored-nation clauses, the possibilities of treaty-shopping and the impact of investor-State arbitration with its intensive reliance on precedent and other genuinely multilateral approaches to treaty interpretation, it offers a conceptual framework for understanding the nature and
Does public service liberalization pose a threat to gender and human rights? Traditionally considered essential services provided by a state to its citizens, public services are often viewed as public goods which embody social values. Subjecting them to market ideology thus raises concerns that the intrinsic social nature of these services will be negated. Moreover, as those most likely to be reliant on public services, public service liberalization may also further marginalize women. Nevertheless, states continue to increasingly liberalize public services. Barnali Choudhury explores the implications of public service liberalization. Using primarily a legal approach, but drawing from case studies, empirical research and gender theories, she examines whether liberalization under the General Agreement on Trade in Services and other liberalization vehicles such as preferential trade and investment agreements compromise human rights and gender objectives.
The severe global financial crisis of 2008 could not be overcome without government interventions through industrial policy. This timely book analyses industrial policy from the perspectives of trade law and economics under the WTO system. The author expertly examines both general tools of protecting and supporting domestic producers and specific topics like special economic zones, localization, greening measures and creative economy. In addition to legal texts and jurisprudence, this book extensively utilizes other WTO materials to show what is actually discussed in WTO meetings and forums on relevant issues. Where applicable, the author advances practical recommendations for 'right' or 'optimal' industrial policy in certain contexts based on trade rules, case law and some countries' real experiences. The author concludes this work with some thoughts on concrete actions to be taken at the WTO and national levels and in academic circles in order to better tackle industrial policy
Gas transit is network-dependent and it cannot be established without the existence of pipeline infrastructure in the territory of a transit state or the ability to access this infrastructure. Nevertheless, at an inter-regional level, there are no sufficient pipeline networks allowing gas to travel freely from a supplier to the most lucrative markets. The existing networks are often operated by either private or state-controlled vertically integrated monopolies who are often reluctant to release unused pipeline capacity to their potential competitors. These obstacles to gas transit can diminish the gains from trade for states endowed with natural gas resources, including developing landlocked countries, as well as undermine WTO Members' energy security and their attempts at sustainable development. This book explains how the WTO could play a more prominent role in the international regulation of gas transit and promote the development of an international gas market.
Digitisation has significantly impacted international trade. This book explains the impact of digitisation on trade in services, the ensuing concept of 'digital services' and the different types of trade barriers these services face. This book establishes that the legal framework that applies to trade in services also applies to digital services. It elaborates on the scope of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and how to classify digital services. The relevant GATS obligations are subsequently applied to several case studies that illustrate the barriers to digital services trade. These case studies demonstrate the impact of the applicability of GATS to digital services on countries' international obligations. Finally, the book maps the electronic commerce-related provisions in in regional trade agreements (RTAs). Six extensive e-commerce RTAs are compared in depth and it is considered whether they add substantially to the existing multilateral obligations applicable to
Providing extensive coverage of international trade law from an economic development perspective, this second edition of Reclaiming Development in the World Trading System offers discussion of key principles of international trade law, trade measures, trade and development issues, and regulatory reform. Including such topics as the most-favored-nation principle, national treatment, and tariff binding, Lee also offers insightful analysis into new areas pertaining to agriculture and textile, trade-related investment, intellectual property rights, and trade in services. Looking at trade and development issues in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, as well as microtrade, an innovative international trade system designed to relieve the absolute poverty of least-developed countries, this book is essential reading that gives context to development interests and advances specific regulatory and institutional reform proposals. Lee lends insight into these topics with case analysis exemplifying
In recent years, investor-state tribunals have often permitted shareholders' claims for reflective loss despite the well-established principle of no reflective loss applied consistently in domestic regimes and in other fields of international law. Investment tribunals have justified their decisions by relying on definitions of 'investment' in investment agreements that often include 'shares', while the no-reflective-loss principle is generally justified on the basis of policy considerations pertaining to the preservation of the efficiency of the adjudicatory process and to the protection of other stakeholders, such as creditors. Although these policy considerations militating for the prohibition of shareholders' claims for reflective loss also apply in investor-state arbitration, they are curable in that context and must be balanced with policy considerations specific to the field of international investment law that weigh in favor of such claims: the protection of foreign investors
In an era of increased reliance on private regulatory bodies and globalised economic activity, standardisation is the field where politics, technical expertise and strategic behaviour meet and interact. International standard-setting bodies exemplify the rise of transnational governance and the challenges that it brings about relating to institutional choice, legitimacy, procedural and substantive fairness or transparency. This book takes a more empirical-based approach focusing on the mechanics of international standard-setting. It constitutes a multidisciplinary inquiry into the foundations of international standard-setting, an empirically under-researched yet important area of international informal lawmaking. Contributors expertly examine the peculiarities of international standardisation in selected issue-areas and legal orders and shed light on the attributes of international standard-setters, allowing comparisons among standard-setting bodies with a view to identifying best
The severe global financial crisis of 2008 could not be overcome without government interventions through industrial policy. This timely book analyses industrial policy from the perspectives of trade law and economics under the WTO system. The author expertly examines both general tools of protecting and supporting domestic producers and specific topics like special economic zones, localization, greening measures and creative economy. In addition to legal texts and jurisprudence, this book extensively utilizes other WTO materials to show what is actually discussed in WTO meetings and forums on relevant issues. Where applicable, the author advances practical recommendations for 'right' or 'optimal' industrial policy in certain contexts based on trade rules, case law and some countries' real experiences. The author concludes this work with some thoughts on concrete actions to be taken at the WTO and national levels and in academic circles in order to better tackle industrial policy
Transparency of trade regulations by all WTO Members is essential for open, fair and predictable trade relations. A myriad of different regulations apply in all WTO Members and have the potential for affecting international trade. The Agreements on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures and on Technical Barriers to Trade provide the most comprehensive frameworks in the WTO to address the costs arising from such regulatory diversity, through obligations on regulatory transparency and co-operation. This book gives a detailed account of the legal disciplines of the two Agreements, an in-depth presentation of discussions between WTO Members, and an overview of the few cases that end up in formal dispute settlement. It shows that the strength of the WTO legal and institutional system goes well beyond its dispute settlement system, with transparency enabling implementation of WTO obligations through better information sharing and co-operation among Members themselves
