2012 INTERNATIONAL TRADING SYSTEM - THE WTO AND REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS

Overview

The world trading system has undergone massive changes in the last sixteen years. The creation of the WTO and the development of enforceable international rules governing trade in services and intellectual property rights as well as trade in goods vastly expanded the scope and effectiveness of the system. While multilateral negotiations have stalled, countries around the world have accelerated their involvement in regional trade agreements. This seminar will examine the implications of these developments, providing a careful analysis of the WTO, Uruguay Round Agreements, and of regional trade agreements. The course will also cover the techniques of negotiating trade agreements. The program is designed as a practical course that will assist trade officials in their work and help enterprises to take full advantage of the opportunities provided by multilateral and regional trade agreements. The course will be taught by former and present senior government trade officials and negotiators, leading academics, practitioners, and officials from multinational organizations, and will include site visits to U.S. government trade agencies and the United States Congress.

Course Outline

Background

•  History of GATT and WTO
•  Organization and functions of WTO

The Fundamental Trade Rules

• Most-favored nation
• National treatment
• Tariff bindings
• The ban on quantitative restrictions
• Transparency

Customs Issues

• Classification
•  Customs valuation
•  Rules of origin
•  Country-of-origin marking
•  Trade facilitation

Import Defense Measures

• Antidumping
•  Countervailing duties and safeguards

Trade and Agriculture 

Non-Tariff Barriers

• Technical barriers to trade
•  Sanitary and phytosanitary measures

Developing Countries

• Special and differential treatment
•  Preferential arrangements

Regional Trade Agreements

• The GATT/WTO rules on RTAs
•  The economics and politics of RTAs
•  Negotiating RTAs
•  Scope of RTAs
•  Rules of origin
•  Advantages and disadvantages of RTAs

Negotiating Trade Agreements

• Deciding whether to negotiate
•  Preparing for negotiations
•  Conducting negotiations

Course Advisor

Patrick Macrory is Director of ILI’s International Trade Law Center. He was a senior partner in two of Washington’s largest law firms, and has practiced trade law for more than forty years. He has taught international trade law at universities in Tokyo, Washington and London, and has written extensively on the subject. He was Editor-in-Chief of a major multi-volume work on the WTO, published by Springer in 2005.