Trade Liberalisation And International Co Operation

Experts from a range of backgrounds around the world provide perspectives on the significance and likely impact of the agreement, and in particular its implications for national regulatory autonomy. The chapters cover cross-cutting issues such as devel

International trade liberalization historically has taken many organizational forms--unilateral, bilateral, minilateral, and multilateral. Given the proliferation of normative views about which of these should be pursued, economists and political scientists have devoted surprisingly little attention to the reasons for the observed variation in the chosen forms. This book is the first to develop a single theoretical framework to account for past liberalization practices and also to anticipate ongoing changes in the international organization of trade policy. Growing out of a multidisciplinary effort combining economics, politics, organization, and law, the book's strategic organizational approach will interest students of trade, international relations, or institutional arrangements. Central to the strategic organizational approach is the view that organizational variety reflects alternate governance structures used to facilitate and enforce agreements. Among the successes of the approach are explanations of unilateral liberalization by nineteenth-century Britain, U.S. governance of multilateral liberalization under the early postwar GATT, growing use of bilateral governance to limit nontariff trade barriers, and anticipation of major moves toward minilateral governance, such as Europe/1992 and the Canada-U.S. Free-Trade Agreement. Originally published in 1992. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The book examines diverse aspects of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The contributors analyze the improvement of the position of EU and US in the world economy, as well as in politics and international organisations. They analyse new regulatory standards and the impact on Polish and EU merchandise and services trade.

This policy-oriented volume serves also as an advanced text on international economic organizations and the politics of international trade. It examines the ways in which political changes in major industrialized democracies are affecting their policy mixes, their interactions with each other, and the activities of international firms. Gavin Boyd surveys the policy questions facing governments as a result of the increasing influence of those firms on national economic structures.

The benefits of open markets are tangible. In the last decade, countries that have been more open to trade and investment have achieved double the average annual growth of more closed economies. More individuals, firms and nations than ever before depend on the gains from trade and investment liberalisation. Yet anxiety about the effects of greater market integration remains. It is essential for long-term world prosperity that countries' commitment to trade and investment liberalisation be sustained. To be credible, that commitment must be rooted in and enjoy broad public support and understanding. This makes it all the more important to communicate what trade and investment liberalisation can and cannot do and be held responsible for. Trade and investment liberalisation is not painless. It should not be viewed as a cure-all nor presented as an end in itself. It is, however, an essential component of any coherent set of policies aimed at helping societies adjust to - and take advantage of - technology-driven transformations whose pace and depth are unprecedented. The stakes are high. This book examines the various channels through which open markets deliver considerable benefits to societies and their citizens; recalls the real pocket-book costs of protectionism; and addresses the full range of concerns that feature prominently in ongoing discussions over the effects of market liberalisation on employment, income distribution, environmental protection and national sovereignty. A central message of this book is that liberalisation forms part of the solution to the concerns of citizens, rather than being their root cause. The book's comprehensive treatment of the ins and outs of trade and investment liberalisation should make an important contribution to the public debate. It is essential reading for public officials, business leaders and private citizens who wish to take an active part in it.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks attempt to link together at least nine countries in three continents to create a 'high-quality, twenty-first century agreement'. Such an agreement is intended to open markets to competition between the partners more than ever before in sectors ranging from goods and services to investment, and includes rigorous rules in the fields of intellectual property, labour protection and environmental conservation. The TPP also aims to improve regulatory coherence, enhance production supply chains and help boost small and medium-sized enterprises. It could transform relations with regions such as Latin America, paving the way to an eventual Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific, or see innovations translated into the global trade regulatory system operating under the WTO. However, given the tensions between strategic and economic concerns, the final deal could still collapse into something closer to a standard, 'twentieth-century' trade agreement.

Publisher's description: Developing countries are increasingly confronted with the need to address trade policy related issues in international agreements, most prominently the World Trade Organization (WTO). New WTO negotiations on a broad range of subjects were launched in November 2001. Determining whether and how international trade agreements can support economic development is a major challenge. Stakeholders in developing countries must be informed on the issues and understand how their interests can be pursued through international cooperation. This handbook offers guidance on the design of trade policy reform, surveys key disciplines and the functioning of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and discusses numerous issues and options that confront developing countries in using international cooperation to improve domestic policy and obtain access to export markets. Many of the issues discussed are also relevant in the context of regional integration agreements. Separate sections of the handbook summarize what constitutes sound trade policy; the major aspects of the WTO from a development perspective; policy issues in the area of merchandise trade and the liberalization of international transactions in services; protection of intellectual property rights and economic development; new regulatory subjects that are emerging in the agenda of trade talks; and enhancing participation of developing countries in the global trading system.