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International Trade. What is international trade?. imports, exports foreign investment WTO, NAFTA, EU and, potentially, everything else. Trade terms.
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What is international trade? • imports, exports • foreign investment • WTO, NAFTA, EU • and, potentially, everything else
Trade terms • Dumping -- selling imports into a domestic market at a price lower than the cost of production in the country of origin—”less than fair value” (LTFV) • Tariff --A fee (or duty) levied upon goods transported from one customs area to another • Trade subsidies -- government payments or other benefits to producers that make their prices “unfairly” low • Countervailing duties – extra fee levied by importing country to counter unfair subsidy
Legal framework • most countries members of WTO • many countries also have bilateral or regional trade agreements • trade agreements generally have dispute resolution mechanisms • trade obligations may affect/supplant national law
WTO history • Began in 1995, built on GATT • GATT began in 1947. • GATT intended as tariff-cutting agreement. • “Rounds” are series of negotiations intended to cut tariffs.
3 main principles of GATT/WTO • convert all trade barriers to tariffs • transparent • easier to administer • most-favored-nation (MFN) • any favorable trade treatment must be given to all members • national treatment • imports treated equally with domestic
WTO: 6 components • trade in goods –1994 GATT agreement –all bound • product standards –all bound • GATS –trade in services—not all bound • TRIPs –all bound • plurilateral agreements (e.g., gov’t procurement) –some bound • dispute resolution –all bound
WTO structure • Ministerial Body (meets every 2 years; e.g., Seattle) • General Council –main governing body • Secretariat –permanent professional staff
WTO dispute resolution process • “request for consultations” = complaint • panel • appellate body (appeals routine) • loser must bring itself into compliance • if not, winner can retaliate
Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs); Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) • permitted by WTO • multilateral or bilateral • important because of stalled progress on Doha round • US aggressively pursuing
NAFTA • earlier CFTA (US-Canada) • decreases, then removes tariffs • Anti-dumping, countervailing duty disputes (Chapter 19) — arbitration before bi-national panels • investment disputes (Chapter 11)—ICSID arbitration, UNCITRAL
Researching WTO law • Jeanne Rehberg’s guide: http://www.law.nyu.edu/library/research/researchguides/wtogattresearch/index.htm • ASIL’s Elec. Res. Guide • treatises for background, concepts, details • WTO site • USTR site for US perspective
WTO site • documents from 1995 (selected older documents) • treaties • WTO Analytical Index — Guide to WTO Law and Practice (travaux and interpretation) • reports, news, statistics
WTO site: Documents Online • accessible from Trade Topics with drop-down menus • browse or search • document symbol: e.g., G/SCM/59/Add.2 • document number: e.g., 04-4872
WorldTradeLaw.net • part free, part subscription • search engine for WTO docs • easier to download WTO docs • expert commentary, index
TradeLawGuide • citator for WTO panel and AB decisions • interprets key terms • WTO jurisprudence by treaty, article
Tariff schedules • US Harmonized Tariff Schedule • US International Trade Commission site • WTO site –schedule of concessions • national trade department sites
Other resources • Westlaw, Lexis • WTO panel and AB decisions • NAFTA decisions • treaties • GATT documents – Stanford http://gatt.stanford.edu/bin/search/simple • BNA’s International Trade Reporter