product standards,harmonization,and trade: evidence from the extensive margin

product standards,harmonization,and trade: evidence from the extensive margin
Author: Ben Shepherd
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 34
Release: 2007
Genre: CDI.
ISBN:

Abstract: The author uses a new database of EU product standards in the textiles, clothing, and footwear sectors to present the first empirical evidence that international standards harmonization is associated with increased partner country export variety. A 10 percentage point increase in the proportion of internationally harmonized standards is associated with a 0.2 percent increase in partner country export variety, whereas a 10 percent increase in the total number of standards is associated with a nearly 6 percent decrease in product variety. Although small, the harmonization elasticity is statistically significant, and proves highly robust to sample changes and instrumental variables estimation using instruments motivated by political economy considerations. Moreover, it is found to be around 50 percent higher for low income countries, which suggests that they may be particularly constrained in adapting products to meet multiple standards. Numerical simulations show that these findings are consistent with a heterogeneous firms model of trade in which harmonization is beneficial at the extensive margin provided that any increases in compliance costs are not too large.

International Standardization and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade

International Standardization and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
Author: Andrea Barrios Villarreal
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2018-10-04
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1108584470

International Standardization and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade examines the international standardization system generally, with a specific focus on some of the bodies within this system, along with their rules and procedures. It also examines - and questions - the lack of definition regarding several features related to the system, notably an international standardizing body (ISB) and international standards in the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). Andrea Barrios Villarreal, who has been involved in standardization activities for more than seven years, provides a unique and in-depth analysis that will be useful to scholars, students and practitioners. This illuminating work is a welcome addition to the international economic law literature and should be read by anyone with an interest in the interaction between trade law and international standardization.

The Regulation of Product Standards in World Trade Law

The Regulation of Product Standards in World Trade Law
Author: Ming Du
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2020-11-12
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1509931147

This monograph has two central purposes. The first is to provide a critical analysis of how governmental, private and hybrid product standards are regulated in the GATT/WTO legal framework. The second purpose is to explore – both positively and normatively – the impact that WTO disciplines may have on the composition, function and decision-making process of various standard-setting bodies through the lens of a series of selected case studies, including: the EU eco-labelling scheme; ISO standards; and private standards such as the FSC. The book analyses what role, if any, the WTO may play in making product standards applied in international trade embody not only technological superiority but also substantive and procedural fairness such as deliberation, representativeness, openness, transparency, due process and accountability. Whilst it has been long recognised that voluntary product standards drawn up by both governmental and non-governmental bodies can in practice create trade barriers as serious as mandatory governmental regulations, a rigorous and systematic inquiry into the boundary, relevance and impact of WTO disciplines on product standards is still lacking. Providing a lucid interpretation of the relevant WTO rules and cases on product standards, this book fills this significant gap in WTO law literature. Definitive and comprehensive, this is an essential reference work for scholars and practitioners alike.

Reinvigorating Trade and Inclusive Growth

Reinvigorating Trade and Inclusive Growth
Author: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 43
Release: 2018-09-30
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1498309909

"Trade integration can play a much larger role in boosting shared prosperity. The current focus on trade tensions threatens to obscure the great untapped benefits possible from further trade reform. The opportunities provided by information technology and other fundamental changes in the global economy are yet to be reflected in modern areas of trade policy, such as services and electronic commerce. Greater openness in these areas would promote competition, lift productivity, and raise living standards. In many other areas, such as the rural economy, smaller enterprises, and women’s economic empowerment, trade-related reforms are important particularly to foster more inclusive growth. Harnessing flexible approaches to WTO negotiations may be the key to reinvigorating global trade reform. Despite the benefits at stake—and with important exceptions such as the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement—trade reform has lagged since the early 2000s. For much of this period, governments focused their efforts in the WTO on a single negotiating approach. Now, as groups of WTO members pursue joint initiatives in several areas, attention is turning to how other negotiating approaches—including some used effectively in the past—can be leveraged so that trade once again plays its full role in driving increased global economic prosperity. Building greater, more durable openness—this paper’s focus—should be part of a broader effort to strengthen and reinvest in the global trading system. The system of global trade rules that has nurtured unprecedented economic growth across multiple generations faces tensions. Though only recently brought to the fore, those tensions are rooted in issues that have been left unresolved for too long. Governments need to promptly address outstanding questions involving, for example, the WTO dispute system and the reach of subsidy disciplines. Cooperative action to secure greater openness—an imperative in its own right—could also help to resolve these"

The Regulation of International Trade, Volume 2

The Regulation of International Trade, Volume 2
Author: Petros C. Mavroidis
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 887
Release: 2016-04-22
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0262333724

A detailed examination of WTO agreements regulating trade in goods, discussing legal context, policy background, economic rationale, and case law. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) has extended its institutional arsenal since the Kennedy round in the early 1960s. The current institutional design is the outcome of the Uruguay round and agreements reached in the ongoing Doha round (begun in 2001). One of the institutional outgrowths of GATT is the World Trade Organization (WT0), created in 1995. In this book, Petros Mavroidis offers a detailed examination of WTO agreements regulating trade in goods, discussing legal context, policy background, economic rationale, and case law. Each chapter examines a given legal norm and its subsequent practice. In particular, he discusses agreements dealing with customs clearance; “contingent protection” instruments, which allow WTO members unilaterally to add to the negotiated amount of protection when a certain contingency (for example, dumping) has occurred; TBT (Technical Barriers to Trade) and SPS (Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary Measures) agreements, both of which deal with such domestic instruments as environmental, health policy, or consumer information; the agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIM); sector-specific agreements on agriculture and textiles; plurilateral agreements (binding a subset of WTO membership) on government procurement and civil aviation; and transparency in trade relations. This book's companion volume examines the GATT regime for international trade.

Handbook of Commercial Policy

Handbook of Commercial Policy
Author:
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 600
Release: 2016-11-02
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0444639268

Handbook of Commercial Policy explores three main topics that permeate the study of commercial policy. The first section presents a broad set of basic empirical facts regarding the pattern and evolution of commercial policy, with the second section investigating the crosscutting legal issues relating to the purpose and design of agreements. Final sections cover key issues of commercial policy in the modern global economy. Every chapter in the book provides coverage from the perspectives of multilateral, and where appropriate, preferential trade agreements. While most other volumes are policy-oriented, this comprehensive guide explores the ways that intellectual thinking and rigor organize research, further making frontier-level synthesis and current theoretical, and empirical, research accessible to all. - Covers the research areas that are critical for understanding how the world of commercial policy has changed, especially over the last 20 years - Presents the way in which research on the topic has evolved - Scrutinizes the economic modeling of bargaining and legal issues - Useful for examining the theory and empirics of commercial policy

WTO Accessions and Trade Multilateralism

WTO Accessions and Trade Multilateralism
Author: Uri Dadush
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 1015
Release: 2015-09-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1107093368

An examination of how WTO accession negotiations have expanded the reach of the multilateral trading system both geographically and conceptually.

The Political Economy of the World Trading System

The Political Economy of the World Trading System
Author: Bernard M. Hoekman
Publisher:
Total Pages: 766
Release: 2009
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0199553777

The Political Economy of the World Trading System is a comprehensive textbook account of the economics, institutional mechanics and politics of the world trading system. This third edition has been expanded and updated to cover developments in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) since its formation, including the Doha Round, presenting the essentials of trade negotiations and the WTO's rules and disciplines. The authors focus in particular on the WTO's role as the primary organisation through which trading nations manage their commercial interactions and the focal point for cooperation on policy responses to the rapidly changing global trading environment. It is the forum in which many features of the globalisation process are considered, and it currently faces an unprecedented set of challenges. The increasing importance of countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa in international trade relations, the revealed preference towards regionalism, intensification of trade conflicts, the role of business groups and NGOs in trade policy formation and negotiations, and pressures for more leadership in an institution threatened by paralysis are examples of issues that are discussed in some detail; all are critical for the operation of the system and for international business in the coming decade. This edition also includes numerous real-world examples to illustrate how the WTO impinges on business, workers and households, written from the perspective of managers and business associations. An insider's view of the institutional history of the WTO allows the authors to use a variety of conceptual tools to analyse the working of the WTO in a non-technical manner. Suggestions for Further Reading at the end of each chapter and an extensive bibliography make the volume suitable both for introductory and postgraduate courses on international economics and business, international relations, and international economic law.

Aid for Trade at a Glance 2015 Reducing Trade Costs for Inclusive, Sustainable Growth

Aid for Trade at a Glance 2015 Reducing Trade Costs for Inclusive, Sustainable Growth
Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
Total Pages: 464
Release: 2015-06-30
Genre:
ISBN: 9264235795

The Aid for Trade Initiative has allowed for the active engagement of a large number of organisations and agencies in helping developing countries and especially the least developed build the infrastructure and supply-side capacity they need to connect to regional and global markets and improve ...