A comprehensive account of the establishment of the World Trade Organization, focusing on those who shaped its creation as well as those who have influenced its evolution. The book examines trade negotiations, the WTO's dispute settlement role, the presence of coalitions and groupings within the WTO, the process of joining the organization and many other topics, including what lies ahead for the organization.
In this reissued edition of the classic work Developing Countries in the GATT Legal System, Robert E. Hudec's clear insight on the situation of developing countries within the international trade system is once again made available. Hudec is regarded as one of the most prominent commentators on the evolution of the current international trade regime, and this long out-of-print book offers his analysis of the dynamics playing out between developed and developing nations. A significant contribution when the book was first published, this work continues to serve as a thoughtful and important guide to how current and future trade policy must seriously adapt to the demands of the developing world. This new edition includes a new introduction by J. Michael Finger that examines Hudec's work to understand how the GATT got into its current historical-institutional predicament and the lasting impact of his work on current research on international trade systems.
The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is the most far-reaching and comprehensive legal regime ever concluded at the multilateral level in the area of intellectual property rights (IPR). Compared to prior IPR conventions, TRIPS constitutes a major qualitative leap which radically modifies not only the context in which IPR are considered internationally, but also their substantive content and the methods for their enforcement and dispute settlement. This much-welcomed treatise, now in its third edition, thoroughly updates its comprehensive analysis of the substantive provisions of the Agreement and their actual interpretation and application in different jurisdictions, with new material on the burgeoning case law and on major changes in plant variety protection. As in previous editions, the book may be relied upon for in-depth clarification of such matters as the following: • standards established under the agreement; • enforcement measures; • social and legal issues; • legal and policy possibilities offered; • legislative latitude allowed to WTO Member States; • incorporation of TRIPS into domestic law; • protection of integrated circuit design; • protection of innovation and R&D for diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries; • challenges raised by ongoing technological changes; • access to medicines; • protection of confidential (undisclosed) information; and • interface between competition law and intellectual property protection. With fifteen chapters contributed by a distinguished panel of experts representing diverse parties — international organisations, legal practice, government policy, and academia — the third edition offers an incomparable framework for understanding the background, principles, and complex provisions of the TRIPS Agreement. Thoroughly revised and updated, the third edition will be of great value to all professionals and business people concerned with international trade. It stimulates further discussion and analysis in this area of growing importance to international law and international economic relations, particularly regarding the possibilities offered by the Agreement and the loose ends that may need consideration in the future at the national or international level.
Argues that prosperity has rarely, if ever, been achieved or sustained without trade. Trade alone, however, is not enough; policies targeting employment, education, health and other issues are also needed to promote well-being and tackle the challenges of a globalised economy.
Following its foundation in 1957, the European Economic Community set about establishing itself as a major player on the world stage. One of the first key arenas in which the new organisation began to make its presence felt was the GATT negotiations that took place between 1963 and 1967, known as the Kennedy Round. Through a reconstruction of these on-going negotiations, this book charts the emergence of the EEC as a world trading power and the strategies it adopted that were to have a lasting effect upon European trade policies. As well as proving an important background to the Kennedy Round, the study explains how the EEC/European Union became a powerful actor in international trade, championing a liberal attitude toward the industrial sector but a protectionist one in agriculture. It also addresses the impact of the EEC/EU as regional trading area on the multilateral and global trading system and the EEC/EU trade policy-making. Through an historical analysis of these topics, a much fuller understanding of the actual role and stance of the EEC/EU in world trade is provided, one that not only illuminates events at the time, but provides essential background to the challenges still faced by the international trading system and the World Trade Organization. Based on a wealth of documentary research drawn from European and US archives, this book will be welcomed by all wishing to better understand the complex nature of international trade in an increasingly globalised market place.
This book analyzes the much-needed and vastly under-studied subject of bargaining coalitions of developing countries in the GATT and WTO. This is an extremely important contribution to the field.
The advent in the 1990s of Chile as a model for economic reform is something of a surprise. Though many of the reforms were actually introduced in the 1970s, many seemed to have failed until recently. In this book, international scholars review the reforms in Chile and assess their overall effectiveness.
