The Liberalization Of Maritime Transport Services

A detailed analysis of the history of maritime transport services in the Uruguay and post-Uruguay Round negotiations and the role of the sector in the ongoing Doha Round talks. The reader will be confronted with an extensive overview of the role of maritime transport services in the WTO/GATS framework, a topic basically uncovered in the literature so far.

This book contributes to the debate for the liberalization of world trade in maritime transport services in the light of current initiatives in the EEC and the forthcoming round of multilateral trade negotiations in GATT.

Trade liberalization and the breakup of private carrier agreements could reduce average liner transport prices by a third and cut costs on goods carried to the United States alone by up to $3 billion.

Since the beginnings of international law, the law of the sea has been of paramount importance for international trade. Yet this area of law and international trade regulations have developed as two distinct areas with little interface with each other. As the GATT/WTO emerged in parallel to the LOS Convention since the 1970s, both bodies have made extensive efforts in international treaty making. However, the relationship between trade regulations and the law of the sea has hardly been explored. The author examines some key aspects of this relationship, in particular port entry, access to cargo in coastal shipping (cabotage) and access to cargo in international shipping. The inclusion of services in WTO law will render this relationship of great importance in the future as the agreement extensively covers maritime transport. It is just a matter of time until the current exclusion of maritime transport under special exemptions will be reviewed in future negotiations. The book provides the background and a normative basis for approaching some of the problems which members of the WTO will have to address in coming years. It also deals briefly with the problem of choice of law and competing jurisdictions between trade law and maritime law.

The Review of Maritime Transport is an UNCTAD flagship publication, published annually since 1968. It provides an analysis of structural and cyclical changes affecting seaborne trade, ports and shipping, as well as an extensive collection of statistical information. The present edition of the Review of Maritime Transport takes the view that the long-term growth prospects for seaborne trade and maritime businesses are positive, with ample opportunities for developing countries to generate income and employment and help promote foreign trade.