After addressing the various challenges raised by RTAs and the opportunities for non-parties to challenge their legality, this analysis focuses on creating remedies for damages resulting from trade diversion in terms of “global fairness”. It draws on lessons learned from antitrust law, another area of law that imposes restrictions on freedom of contract in the fight against global inequalities, to show that addressing concerns understood as “social” does not necessarily contribute to the progressive allocation of resources. In conclusion, it argues that the hierarchical structure of world production must be taken into account in order to combat the inequalities fostered by trade diversions through RTAs as well as by the existing multilateral trading system of the WTO. Regional trade agreements (RTAs) have increased in number and scope over the years, including a significant increase in the large plurilateral agreements under negotiation. Non-discrimination between trading partners is one of the fundamental principles of the WTO; However, RTAs, which are reciprocal preferential trade agreements between two or more partners, are one of the exceptions and are allowed under the WTO subject to a number of rules. Information on ATRs notified to the WTO is available in the ATR database. Caruso`s examination of the restriction of the contractual freedom of stronger parties or of the remedy for violations of social interests for the purposes of equality in private and commercial law reflects similar arguments put forward in antitrust law. [61] Several economists and lawyers have suggested that a stricter, consumer-oriented application of antitrust law, which restricts contractual freedom and thus the market power of businesses, would lead to greater social equality. [62] Jonathan Baker and Steven Salop, for example, citing Thomas Piketty`s analysis, argued that the exercise of market power, because it tends to increase the return on capital, can contribute to the development and maintenance of inequality. [63] There are benefits and costs for developing and developed countries when they join and do not join RTAs. President Trump has withdrawn from the TPP because it could hurt U.S.
manufacturing and its workers. [49] However, Welch grape juice, Tyson pork and California almonds will continue to be subject to tariffs from TPP participants, while products from competitors in participating countries will eventually be duty-free. [50] There are absolute and relative winners and losers of trade regulation and the resulting diversion within and between countries. [51] [88] Bagchi argues that the smaller the number of people affected by a private act, the more concentrated the externality and the stronger the case for a private law remedy. See Aditi Bagchi, Other People`s Contracts, 32 YALE J. REG. 211, 229 (2015). In the context of trade diversion, concentrated externality must be understood as an externality that disproportionately affects a particular economy. See Caruso, loc. cit.
Note 3, 413–14. RTAs in the WTO are any mutual trade agreement between two or more partners that are not necessarily members of the same region. An APR has been in force for all WTO Members since June 2016. Documents, including factual statements, on the various regional trade agreements notified to the WTO are available in the RTA database. Many RTAs contain elements that deepen cooperation on regulatory issues, and new market opportunities are created even as participants tackle structural barriers in their own economies. Next-generation RTAs are striving to go even further. Countries that want to participate in and benefit even more from global markets need to increasingly integrate trade and investment measures into their broader national structural reform programmes. In fact, countries may be able to use current and future negotiations on regulatory provisions “across the border” as a driver for desired national reforms. The broader structural question of whether, when and how RTA provisions should be multilateral is first and foremost a political issue that governments need to address. Document search online General documents on regional trade agreements are coded as WT/REG/*. As part of the mandate of the Doha trade negotiations, they use TN/RL/* (where * assumes additional values). These links will open a new window: wait a moment for the results to appear.
To the extent that RTAs go beyond WTO commitments and remain open to further participation by countries that have committed to comply with their standards, they can complement the multilateral trading system. Over the years, the OECD has examined the relationship between regional trade agreements and the multilateral trading system, in particular with regard to specific policy areas covered by the provisions of the HRA, such as the treatment of agricultural issues, technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures, investment provisions concerning international technology transfer, the evolution of the integration of environmental considerations and approaches to market opening in the digital world. Age – to name a few. .
