This work lays the foundation for an empirical understanding of the WTO constitution as a response to the logic of intellectual property law. It concludes that the WTO and its institutions must find ways of conforming to the democratic principles of accountability, transparency and representation.
Lovett (Tulane Law School), Eckes (a former commissioner of the U.S. International Commission during the Reagan and Bush I administrations), and Brinkman (international economics, Portland State U.) evaluate the evolution of U.S. trade policy, focusing on the period from the establishment of the Gen
This is a comprehensive overview of the law and practice of the World Trade Organization. It begins with the institutional law of the WTO, moving eventually to the consequences of globalization. New chapters on Trade in Agriculture and on Government Procurement and Trade.
Critics of the World Trade Organization argue that its binding dispute settlement process imposes a neoliberal agenda on its member states with little to no input from their citizenry or governments. If this is the case, why would any nation agree to participate? In International Trade Law and Domestic Policy, Jacqueline Krikorian explores this question by examining the impact of the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism on domestic policies in the United States and Canada. She demonstrates that the WTO's ability to influence domestic arrangements has been constrained by three factors: judicial deference, institutional arrangements, and strategic decision making by political elites in Ottawa and Washington. In this groundbreaking assessment of whether supranational courts are now setting the legislative agenda of sovereign nations, Krikorian brings the insights of law and politics scholarship to bear on a subject matter traditionally addressed by international relations scholars. By doing so, she shows that the classic division between these two fields of study in the discipline of political science, though suitable in the postwar era, is outdated in the context of a globalized world.
A penetrating look at major challenges to the World Trade Organization and the future of trade liberalization. It also shows how the WTO is moving in a direction at odds with basic democratic principles. The author closes his analysis with some policy recommendations.
Introduction -- Intellectual property rights basics -- Global intellectual property holdings -- Contribution of intellectual property to U.S. economy -- The organized structure of IPR protection -- U.S. trade law -- Issues for Congress.
Volume 10 of the EYIEL focusses on the relationship between transnational labour law and international economic law on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). As one of the oldest UN Agencies, the ILO has achieved considerable progress with respect to labour rights and conditions. The contributions to EYIEL Volume 10 assess these achievements in light of current and future challenges. The ILO’s core instruments and legal documents are analysed and similarly the impact labour standards have on trade and investment agreements. In its regional section, EYIEL 10 addresses recent developments in the US and the EU, including the US’ trade policy strategy towards China as well as the reform of the NAFTA. In its part on institutions, EYIEL 10 focusses inter alia on the role of the rule of law in relation to current practices of the International Monetary Fund and of the WTO’s Appellate Body as an international court. Furthermore, it provides an overview of current cases before the WTO. Finally, the volume entails a section with review essays on recently published books in the field of international economic law and international investment law.
Nation states have long and successfully claimed to be the proper and sovereign forum for determining a country's international economic policies. Increasingly, however, supranational and non-governmental actors are moving to the front of the stage. New forms of multilateral and global policy-making have emerged, including states and national administrations, key international organizations, international conferences, multinational enterprises, and a wide range of transnational pressure groups and NGOs that all claim their share in exercising power and influence on international and domestic policy-making. In honour of Professor Mitsuo Matsushita's intellectual contributions to the field of international economic law, this volume reflects on the current state and the future of international economic law. The book addresses a broad spectrum of themes in contemporary international economic regulations and focuses specifically on the significant areas of Professor Matsushita's scholarship, including the rise of the soft-law mechanism in international economic regulation, the role of the WTO and dispute settlement, and specific areas such as competition, subsidies, anti-dumping, intellectual property, and natural resources. Part one of the volume provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of the rule-based international dispute settlement mechanisms; Part two investigates the normative influences to and from WTO law; and Part three focuses on policy and law-making issues.
