Jeffrey J. Schott

Multilateralizing Regionalism: Fitting Asia-Pacific agreements into the WTO system

It is commonplace to note the proliferation of customs unions (CUs), free trade agreements (FTAs) and kindred arrangements, often collectively called preferential trade agreements (PTAs). In fact, the number of agreements concluded between 2000 and 2007 (185) is just under half the number of agreements concluded during the twentieth century (374). These figures can be found in table 1. In addition to a chronological summary, table 1 provides a breakdown of PTAs by region. Countries in Europe (not including the Former Soviet Union) have concluded the most agreements (232) to date. Countries in the Americas have concluded the second most agreements (166). If we consider the Asia-Pacific region (Americas, East and South Asia, and Oceania) as a unit, the total number of concluded agreements (234) matches that of Europe.

The world trading system : challenges ahead

This text offers recommendations to deal with issues such as investment, environment, trade, labour standards, and accession to the WTO. It discusses: the Uruguay Round accords; the remaining barriers to trade; regional and multilateral initiatives; and the political support for negotiations.

The future of the multilateral trading system in a multi-polar world

This paper assesses the future of the world trading system in the face of diminishing returns from current multilateral trade negotiations and the proliferation of bilateral and regional trade agreements (RTAs). It traces the evolution of the postwar trading regime from the early decades of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that were dominated by the United States and the European Communities to the new World Trade Organization (WTO) in which developing countries have begun to play a more important role, especially in the current Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations (MTNs). The paper discusses the substantive and tactical reasons why the Doha Round has progressed so grudgingly and is unlikely to achieve its ambitious objectives. It then examines why developing countries increasingly have turned to RTAs to complement WTO talks, whether these pacts benefit or hinder MTNs, and how RTAs affect the influence of developing countries in the WTO. The final section of the paper looks at the WTO going forward and posits that, after the Doha Round, the trading system in the 21st century requires substantial reform. The problems of the Doha Round and the proliferation of regionalism confront WTO members with three central challenges: First, multilateralize multilateralism. There are a vast number of exceptions that take the WTO far away from the ideal of a universal system with a single set of rules. The paper suggests that officials focus on the broad exceptions to most-favored nation (MFN) and national treatment in Articles XX and XXI, especially the provisions covering border security and environmental issues. Second, multilateralize regionalism. The challenge is to make the design and implementation of RTAs more WTO-friendly. The paper calls for greater transparency of RTAs through more frequent and rigorous WTO reporting requirements, and new disciplines on discriminatory rules of origin. The paper offers two correctives: cut MFN tariffs and thus reduce the margin of preference for RTA members; or, alternatively, require that RTA members harmonize and lower the MFN tariffs down to the level of the lowest rate applied by any of the RTA members. Third, modernize multilateralism. The WTO agenda needs to be refocused on the problems of international commerce in the 21st century. WTO rules on taxes and subsidies need to be recast to cover concerns about currency manipulation, regulatory abuse or neglect, and labor market practices as well as to meet the new challenges of climate change initiatives. In addition, WTO members will have to address trade and security linkages before pre-shipment inspection and visa requirements become major obstacles to international flows of goods, services, and people. To do so, the WTO will have to collaborate more effectively with other international economic organizations.

Economic Sanctions and U.S. Foreign Policy

Economic sanctions have played an important role in foreign policy throughout the twentieth century. In a comprehensive study of sanctions, we have documented 103 cases since the beginning of World War I where sanctions have been deployed by a number of countries in pursuit of foreign policy goals.1 The United States has practiced the art of economic coercion far more than any other country, participating in 68 of the 103 cases; but the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, France, and the Arab League have also utilized sanctions on numerous occasions.

The Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific: A Constructive Approach to Multilateralizing Asian Regionalism

This paper examines the prospect of realizing regional economic integration via the mechanism of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). The FTAAP initiative represents a politically ambitious, high potential benefit option for achieving Asian regional integration. Among its desirable attributes, the FTAAP initiative could help revive and promote a successful conclusion of the Doha Round negotiations; constitute a “Plan B†hedge if Doha fails; short-circuit the further proliferation of bilateral and sub-regional preferential agreements that create substantial new discrimination and discord within the Asia-Pacific region; defuse the renewed risk of “drawing a line down the middle of the Pacific†as East Asian, and perhaps the Western Hemisphere, initiatives produce disintegration of the Asia-Pacific region rather than the integration of that broader region that the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum was created to foster; channel the People’s Republic of China (PRC)-United States economic conflict into a more constructive and less confrontational context; and revitalize APEC, which is of enhanced importance because of the prospects for Asia-Pacific and especially the PRC-US fissures. An incremental approach to the FTAAP, explicitly embodying enforceable reciprocal commitments, offers the best hope delivering on the concept’s abundant benefits.