...Tariffs and Trade 1994 ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was a multilateral agreement regulating international trade. According to its preamble, its purpose was the "substantial reduction of tariffs and other trade barriers and the elimination of preferences, on a reciprocal and mutually advantageous basis." It was negotiated during the UN Conference on Trade and Employment and was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the International Trade Organization (ITO). GATT was signed in 1948 and lasted until 1993, when it was replaced by the World Trade Organization in 1995. The original GATT text (GATT 1958) is still in effect under the WTO framework, subject to the modifications of GATT 1994 ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- GATT and the World Trade Organization ------------------------------------------------- In 1993, the GATT was updated (GATT 1994) to include new obligations upon its signatories. One of the most significant changes was the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The 75 existing GATT members and the European Communities became the founding members of the WTO on 1 January 1995. The other 52 GATT members rejoined the WTO in the following two years (the last being Congo in 1997). Since the founding of the WTO, 21 new non-GATT members have...
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...World Trade Organization: The art of a little give and take Historical Overview of the WTO The World Trade Organization (WTO) was founded in 1995 as the predecessor to the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The GATT was developed in 1947 on a provisional base after World War 2; it was not started as an international organization, but rather an inter-governmental treaty. Instead of being made up of participating members, such as the WTO, the GATT consisted of contracting parties. As stated in the preamble of the GATT-1947, the objectives of the contracting parties include ‘raising standards of living, ensuring full employment and a large and steadily growing volume of real income and effective demand ,developing the full use of the resources of the world and expanding the production and exchange of goods’(GATT, 1994a: 486). It continues by stating that reciprocal and mutually advantageous arrangements involving a substantial reduction of tariffs and other barriers to trade as well as the elimination of discriminatory treatment in international trade will contribute to the realization of these objectives. So in short the role of the GATT, was (and still is) to facilitate the reduction of barriers of trade and ensure greater equality with respect to conditions of market access for contracting parties. Through the negotiations made by the original 23 countries of the GATT, with additions of over 50 countries, came the charter for the International Trade Organization...
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...Business Introduction Although the World Trade Organization (WTO) was formed in 1995, its predecessor, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was formed in the 1947. The occurrence of the World War II proved the failure of the World War I’s Versailles Treaty. This made the finance ministers at the Bretton Woods Conference to create a new international monetary system that would be a backing in implementing the post-war reconstructions, stabilizing the economic condition and bring peace. Two prominent international economic institutions were established by the Bretton Woods Conference during the post-war period: International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank). The International Trade Organization (ITO) was the third economic institution formed to overcome the unfavourable environmental factors generated because of the beggar-thy-neighbor tariff policies of the 1930s. This paper has discussed about the formation of GATT and its objectives associated with international business. Chinese WTO has been considered to present trading policies, settlement and business development. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The formation of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was fulfilling the objectives of its establishment to a great extent. Tariffs on manufactured products showed a fall of about 6.4 per cent, from a trade-weighted average of about 35 per cent before the framing of GATT in 1947, at the initial stages...
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...The University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China Division of International Business China and the World Trade Organization P13608 Module Outline Module Convenor: Dr Chieh Huang AB Room 379 chieh.huang@nottingham.edu.cn Office hours: Monday 10:30-12:30 10 credits TB329 Tuesday 2-4 PM 10 weekly two-hour lecture/seminars The course is taught by way of lecture/seminars which are two hours in length. The form of the lecture/seminars will be flexible, depending on the topic under consideration. Students are expected to participate fully in discussions in lecture/seminars and to have read all the set Essential Reading before class. Credits: Lecture Venue and Times Method of Delivery & Frequency on Class: Method and Criteria of Assessment: 100% Coursework (5000 words) Essay Submission Deadline is 4pm, Wednesday 27 November 2013 Topics: Please choose one area listed below and discuss its recent development in the context of China. You will need to narrow down your focus and set your own essay topic. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Non-market Economies in the WTO Energy Industry and the WTO Environment and the WTO Commentary on one WTO case involving China Self-selected topic upon approval (You are most welcome to decide a topic yourself. Once you decide to do so, however, you need to submit your topic and an one-paragraph abstract before 4pm 31 October. ) Module Aims: To give the students a broad knowledge of the multilateral trading system and China’s interaction with that system through...
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...[pic]World Trade Organization [pic] The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948. The organization deals with regulation of trade between participating countries; it provides a framework for negotiating and formalizing trade agreements, and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements which are signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their parliaments. Most of the issues that the WTO focuses on derive from previous trade negotiations, especially from the Uruguay Round (1986–1994). The organization is currently endeavoring to persist with a trade negotiation called the Doha Development Agenda (or Doha Round), which was launched in 2001 to enhance equitable participation of poorer countries which represent a majority of the world's population. However, the negotiation has been dogged by "disagreement between exporters of agricultural bulk commodities and countries with large numbers of subsistence farmers on the precise terms of a 'special safeguard measure' to protect farmers from surges in imports. At this time, the future of the Doha Round is uncertain." The WTO has 153 members representing more than 97% of total world trade and 30 observers, most seeking membership...
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...International Trade Theory and Policy Institution Date The aim of this article is to discuss a number of issues associated with the international trade theory and policy. First, the motives, nature and purpose of the original General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade have been discussed in this article. Also, the extent to which this purpose was achieved in the first 6 rounds of negotiations has been discussed. The reasons that drove President Reagan and his administration to propose the eighth round of negotiations are also featured in this article. Lastly, the reasons why there is still a significantly steep “effective” tariff hampering global free trade, despite fairly low tariffs on final goods have also been discussed in this article. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was formed in1947. This was after the United Nation conference whose aim was to create the International Trade Organization failed. The GATT came to an end in 1993. In 1995, the (World trade organization WHO) replaced GATT. GATT principal purpose was to boost fair trade by reducing and taking control of the trade tariffs amongst its member countries. In addition, it was responsible solving any trade disputes between the member countries. Before it ended, The GATT had become interested in the intellectual property rights and the effects of global trade on the environment. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade had a provision known “as the most favored nation status.” GATT refers the...
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...Institutions in International Relations: Understanding the Effects of the GATT and the WTO on World Trade Judith L+ Goldstein, Douglas Rivers, and Michael Tomz Abstract The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ~GATT! and the World Trade Organization ~WTO! have been touted as premier examples of international institutions, but few studies have offered empirical proof+ This article comprehensively evaluates the effects of the GATT0WTO and other trade agreements since World War II+ Our analysis is organized around two factors: institutional standing and institutional embeddedness+ We show that many countries had rights and obligations, or institutional standing, in the GATT0WTO even though they were not formal members of the agreement+ We also expand the analysis to include a range of other commercial agreements that were embedded with the GATT0WTO+ Using data on dyadic trade since 1946, we demonstrate that the GATT0WTO substantially increased trade for countries with institutional standing, and that other embedded agreements had similarly positive effects+ Moreover, our evidence suggests that international trade agreements have complemented, rather than undercut, each other+ When and how do international institutions promote cooperation? Few questions are as fundamental to international relations or as salient for world leaders+ Due to the contributions of Keohane and others, we now have sophisticated theories about the emergence and effects of international institutions...
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...Steven Wallace Final Research Paper on General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Int 610 Professor S. Dalpour Abstract The history of global trade shows that free, fair, and open trade is not necessarily the norm. If allowed, larger nations would monopolize trade to their advantage and destroy open competition. The purpose of this paper is to review the history of trade to find out the reasoning behind establish a General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). To meet this goal, this student will quickly review world history concerning trade, the introduction of GATT, its successes and weaknesses, and the emergence of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a successor to GATT. From this literary review, I will cite three current examples – within the last decade – on how recent tariffs and trade barriers still affect the United States of America: * 2002 - US Steel tariff * 2007 - Paper tariff on Chinese Paper * 2009 - Violation of North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and its effect on US trade Finally, I will give me opinion on whether or not I believe the WTO/GATT is still relevant for 2012 and beyond. Why Was There A Need For A General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs? The history of trade – and protectionism of the trade of goods – is record all the way back to the Roman Empire. Trade at that time was characterized by Roman control over roads and on ships throughout the Mediterranean region. If you wanted to move...
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...world trade organisation | SHIRISH SAWANT 321618 | world trade organisation | SHIRISH SAWANT 321618 | WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION: INTRODUCTION: * WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO) is an organization which was established with the motive of negotiations between the countries regarding trade problems. * WORLD TRADE ORGANIZTION was established on 1st January 1995 after the failed attempt made in 1948 to make INTERNATIONAL TRADE ORGANIZATION. * It is considered as the biggest reform of international trade. * From 1948, GENERAL AGREEMENT OF TARIFF AND TRADE (GATT) WTO has taken the rules for its system. * GENERAL AGREEMENT led to establishment of an unofficial international organization also known as GATT. * GATT changed through many rounds of negotiations, but the biggest round was Uruguay Round which almost lasted eight years from 1986-1994. * Which led to the formation of WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO). * When GATT is concerned it only used to look after the trade in goods, but WTO looks after trade in services and in traded invention, creations and designs. * WTO is located in GENEVA, SWITZERLAND. * The membership of WTO is 160 countries till 26th June 2014. * The secretarial staff of WTO is 640. * The current Director- General of WTO is Roberto Azevedo. * When it comes to India, India is the member of WTO from 1st January 1995, and member of the GATT since 8th July 1948. FUNCTIONS OF WTO: ...
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...In July of 1944, in the midst of World War II, the Allied nations gathered at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire to discuss the new world order in trade and finance that would be instituted once the fighting stopped. The states at Bretton Woods embraced the philosophy of commercial liberalism, pursuing free trade in open markets, and the removal of any barriers to this trade and its resulting capital. Seeing commercial liberalism as a solution to conditions and woes that caused World War II, they believed that applying laissez-faire economics (as theorized by Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and John Maynard Keynes) at the international level would “promote more equal access to scarce resources, attract foreign capital and expertise, and foster competition – which generates pressure for increasing efficiency to lower production costs” (Kegley 305). Opening the world’s markets would create interdependence, increase communication, and states would want to solve their problems diplomatically, instead of with war, to avoid a loss in their investments. The nations at the Bretton Woods conference agreed to create three “pillars” for this new strategy: the World Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund, and the International Trade Organization (ITO). The ITO would be the engine for expanding world trade. The ITO became ensnared in negotiations, and states decided that they needed a temporary solution until the ITO could be established, so they signed the General...
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...is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture. In particular, advances in transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, including the rise of the Internet, are major factors in globalization and precipitate further interdependence of economic and cultural activities. GATT General agreement on tariffs and trade, an international treaty (1948–94) to promote trade and economic development by reducing tariffs and other restrictions. it was superseded by the establishment of the world trade organization in 1995 History of GATT • Following World War II, the victor nations sought to create institutions that would eliminate the causes of war. • Their principles were to resolve or prevent war through the United Nations and to eliminate the economic causes of war by establishing three international economic institutions. GATT, 1947 Because the ITO was stillborn the provisional agreement for the ITO, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) became the agreement and the organization for establishing and enforcing, through dispute settlement, the international trade rules. • In 1995 this agreement on trade in goods became the World Trade Organization. • The GATT was very successful in lowering tariffs, the then existing major barrier to free trade. • The first five rounds of multilateral trade negotiation succeeded in lowering tariff...
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...Details: Name : Nyakeriga Bilha K. Student I/D : 621839 Course : IBA 4010 Lecturer : Dr. Simiyu Wambalaba Semester : Summer 2008 Term Paper – World Trade Organization (WTO) TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 4 1.1 What is WTO? 1.2 History of WTO 1.3 Mission 1.4 The Structure of WTO 2.0 WTO SYSTEMS 11 3.0 CONITIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP 17 4.0 OBJECTIVES OF WTO 24 5.0 WTO DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYSTEM 27 5.1 Governing Principles 5.2 Stages Of Dispute Resolution 6.0 SUCCESS AND FAILURES OF WTO 29 7.0 WTO AND 3RD WORLD RELATED ISSUES 35 7.1 Who are the Least Developed Countries? 7.2 Who Are the Developing Countries? 7.3 Issues Relating to 3rd World Countries 7.4 Action Plan for the Least Developed Countries 8.0 CHALLENGES FACED BY WTO 42 8.1 Overloading the WTO 8.2 Decision Making 8.3 The role of overlapping unimplemented commitments from the Uruguay Round with new issues from the Doha Round 8.4 Regionalism 8.5 Eroding national sovereignty 8.6 Asymmetry between goods and service liberalization 8.7 Protecting intellectual property 8.8 Asymmetry between public and private trade restrictive Measures 8.9 Shooting at a moving target: Protectionism in disguise 8.10 Doha Development Agenda 8.11 A Healthy WTO 8.12 Timeliness and Politics...
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...The World Trade Organization maintains a general agreement regarding tariffs and trade with its members. They believe that trade liberation leads to a better life for all. Countries set up tariffs to “give a price advantage to locally-produced goods over similar goods which are imported, and they raise revenues for governments”i. However it is more economic for countries to trade with one another the goods that they produce best. International trade liberation gives developing countries the opportunity to prosper and become more economically accountable. Every country has something that it can produce better, or make more efficiently than another. With zero trade barriers each country will be able to receive more goods at a higher quality, for a lower price. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade’s goal was to accomplish this, but was not as successful as the World Trade Organization. The WTO as it was the successor to GATTii was able to look at the problems GATT faced and made it so that the problems would not repeat. When GATT lowered tariffs, non-tariff barriers of trade went up; such things as technical barriers and importing licenses went up. Noticing this GATT decided to make more rules regarding the trade of goods to stop this problem, however only a few of its members signed its prospected agreements. Unlike the case with the GATT, all WTO Members automatically commit to all of the Agreements, whether they have to do with tariffs or not. Some of the other agreements...
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...Liberalism and The consequences of World War II Ayomide A Adaranijo History 3100; Diplomatic History Dr. Oreste Foppiani Although the term liberalism, in the political sense, became very popular in the early 1970’s, actions that would qualify as liberalism had begun to take place since, at the latest, after the Second World War, and probably before that time. The aftermath of the Second World War was the beginning of wide spread international cooperation, and the period immediately after the war signified the beginning of international organizations and the beginning of political and economic cooperation amongst the most powerful countries at the time. Because of the effects of the war, most countries had no other choice but to cooperate with each other in order to recover from the economic downturn after World War II. This period after the war marked the beginning of a series of actions that would eventually lead to the globalized and interdependent political economy that we have today. At the end of the Second World War, most of the former super powers (Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany) were in ruins. The only two true winners of the war were the United States and the Soviet Union. However, the United States was the only country to come out of World War 2 with a stable and efficient economy as well as an intact army and the capacity to produce nuclear weapons (this was very crucial at that time). With most of the world’s economy in jeopardy, the leaders of these...
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...TARIFFS AND TRADE The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), multilateral treaty between governments, was signed in 1947 and came into force on 1st January 1948. Objectives: The primary of GATT is to expand international trade by liberalizing trade so as to bring about all around economic prosperity. The Preamble to the GATT mentions the following as its important objectives: 1. Raising standard of living. 2. Ensuring full employment and a large and steadily growing volume of real income and effective demand. 3. Developing full use of resources of the world. 4. Expansion of production and international trade. For the realization of its objectives, GATT has adopted the following principles: 1. Non-discrimination: the principle of non-discrimination requires that no member country shall discriminate between the members of GATT in the conduct of international trade. To ensure non-discrimination the members of GATT agree to apply the principle of the most favoured nation (MFN) to all import and export duties. This means that each mission shall be treated as well as the most favoured nation. As far as quantitative restrictions are permitted they too are to be administered without favor. However certain expectations to this principle are allowed for instance GATT, does not prohibit economic integration such as free trade areas or customs union, provided the purpose of such integration is “to facilitate trade between the...
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