International Economic and Trade Law Laws on FTA and ODA issues
International Economic and Trade Law
Laws on FTA and ODA issues
General Introduction to the Class
What will we do?
• The objectives of the class
- Introducing the concept of Free Trade Agreements in the paradigm Regionalism
- Analysing several sub-topics in relation to the FTAs issues
- Finding the legal frameworks on the FTAs
- Issuing the international laws and national laws on the FTAs
What will we do?
• The objectives of the class
- What is the basic concepts of the International Development and Cooperation or ODA in the international society?
- How do they make their International agreements for the issue?
- Can we make a good law for the International Development Cooperation?
- What are the Korean issues on the development?
- Are there many Korean laws on the issues?
Lecturer
• Dr. Bongchul Kim, 김봉철
- Professor of DIS and College of Law
- Director of Career Development Centre at HUFS / Deputy director of the EU Centre at HUFS
- Ph.D in Law (King’s College London, University of London)
- MA and BA in Law (HUFS)
• Faculty building 440
- 010-8606-6597/02-2173-3190
The course 1
• Languages
- English
- Is it needed the ‘highest’ level of the languages for the class? – ‘No’
• Lecture and discussion
- Please do not feel any pressure!
The course 2 (Evaluation)
• Half and half rule (exam 1 and 2)
- mid-term and final
- less than 30% each
• Research essay (Paper work)
- about 20%
• Attendance (important!)
- more than 20%
The course 3
• Textbooks
- Bongchul Kim, Trade Remedy Regulations in RTAs, Lambert Academic Publishing, 2011
- Bongchul Kim, "Lectures on RTAs and FTAs", 한국학술정보, 2009
- 국제개발협력의 이해(Understanding international development cooperration), 한국국제협력단, 2009
- more textbooks
• The PPTs for the lectures
- “E-class”
- You may get before the class
- Therefore…
The concept of the International Economic and Trade Law
• One field of International Law
- Regulation of International Economic Issues
• Based on the normal frames of International Law
- Legal or Logical (such as Economic/Political) theories
- Under the negotiations and policies of countries
- Making agreements among the certain countries
- For International economy and development, Benefits of countries, Fair trade and competition… etc.
- Dealing the systems of international institutions
(such as the WTO, OECD and the World Bank…)
• Related to National laws
FTA and Law
Multilateralism vs. Regionalism
The GATT and WTO system
Origins and Overview
The Background of the modern International Trade Law
• The modern International Economic Law
- Post World War II
- New International Economic Cooperation and Multilateral System
• For open trade, reducing
- High tariffs
- Discriminatory economic arrangements
- Import quotas
- Global depression
• The idea of the ITO (International Trade Organisation) - As a UN agency institution
The International Trade Organisation, ITO
• The Bretton Woods Conference (1944)
- Successfully made the International Monetary Fund(IMF)
- Also proposed the need for a international institution for trade
• The proposal of the ITO idea by the US (1946)
- The United Nations Economic and Social Committee adopted a resolution for the ITO
• The Havana Charter for the ITO
- Successful negotiations on the ITO (Havana) Charter
- Providing for the establishment of the ITO and the basic rules for international trade or economic matters
- However, never entered into force (without the approval of the US Congress)
The GATT
• The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
- The negotiations at the same time with the negotiations on the ITO
- Signed in 1947
• The function: “Almost by accident”
- The absence of the ITO or any international organisations for trade
• Not a ‘institution’ but a ‘rule’
- Originally the “Agreement” : International Economic Law for trade issues
- Practical multilateral international institution for trade
- Transforming itself into a de facto international organisation
- Gradually becoming the stage for the international governmental cooperation on trade/economic matters
The GATT and the Rounds
• 1947-1994
- As the practical institution for the international trade issues
- As the source of International Economic Law (still important law in the WTO system)
• 8 Rounds
- Rounds : Multilateral negotiations for making International Economic (Trade) Laws
- 7 Rounds occurred under the GATT system reducing many types of trade barriers
- The last Round(UR) produced the WTO
• The Uruguay Round (1986-1993)
- 123 countries took part in the Round
The WTO
• With the Uruguay Round
- The new Multilateral System (WTO)
- The new fields/topics such as agriculture and services...
• WTO : World Trade Organisation (1995) - The successor to the GATT system
• The real International ‘Institution’ - Similar to the function/idea of the ITO - Using the WTO rules (including the GATT and many more International
Economic/trade laws)
- Global-level (real Multilateral institution with more than 150 members)
• The new Rounds (Doha Round) - Launched in 2001
Multilateralism in the Law
• By many countries
- Not just between/among the neighbouring countries
- From 23(the first Geneva Round) to more than 150(the WTO Members)
• On many issues
- Not just tariffs rates or trade barriers
- Other trade related issues such as environment, agriculture, service, intellectual property…
• For common legal systems (the WTO)
The WTO The symbol of Multilateralism
• The WTO was born out of multilateral negotiations (Rounds)
• Multilateral Organisation
- For the regulation of international trade in the multilateral ways
• Forum for governments to deal or negotiate many trade issues
- Such as the Doha Development Agenda (DDA)
- Building the new provisions to the field of the international trade law
• Dispute Settlement Place
- Producing ‘case laws’ for the multilateral regulations
Principles of the WTO system
• Trade without discrimination
- MFN(Most Favoured Nations) treatment: treating other people equally
- National treatment: treating foreigners and locals equally
• Freer trade
- gradually, through negotiation
• Predictability
- through transparency
• Promoting (practical) fair competition
• Encouraging development (aid) and economic reform
The WTO Agreements
• Institutionalise the multilateral trading system
- Making the ‘rules-based WTO’
• Covering many dimensions of trade
- Trade in goods, trade in services and intellectual property…
• The WTO Agreements
- About 60 agreements and many other rules such as annexes, decisions and understandings
- The GATT 1994 (revision of the GATT 1947 in the WTO system, main rules for trade issues)
- Other agreements
Regionalism
New Paradigm
in International Economic Law
The terms
• Regionalism
- ‘actions by governments to liberalise or facilitate trade on a regional basis, sometimes through free trade agreements(areas) or customs unions’
- Regulations of the international economic/trade issues by the regional international laws in a certain area
- Common rules for ‘their’ trade with making friends in a region
• New trend of Regionalism
- Preferencialism or Crossing the regions
- Not on a certain area
Regional Trade Agreements
• Regional Trade Agreements(RTAs)
- ‘any types of trade agreements between two or more customs territories (countries) within (or across regions) where the trade barriers are reduced or eliminated’
- Based on the concept of Regionalism
- Common rules for regulation of the trade(moreover, other international economic issues) in a certain region
• Recently,
- New RTA types : Preferential Trade Agreement
- Across regions
Similar words to RTAs
• Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs)
- Not just a certain region
- For making preferential trade environments
• Regional Integration Agreements (RIAs)
- Making (economic/trading) ‘block’
- For the integration of the countries or region(s)
• Bilateral Trade Agreements (BTAs)
- Trade agreement between two partners
- Basic concept for an RTA or a PTA
- ‘Trilateral’ or ‘Quadrilateral’? (to Multilateral)
The Importance of RTAs in International Trade
• Before the WTO system (1988-1992)
- Preferential Trade under RTAs represented 40% of world Trade
• During the period of the WTO (1993-1997)
- 42%
• In 2005
- 52. 5%
MTAs vs. RTAs
MTAs RTAs
• Based on - Liberalism - Multilateralism • To build a unified and integrated global system - WTO
• Based on - Regionalism - Bilateralism • To be a exclusive club - ‘them versus us’ - FTA
Thanks