Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Beyond Boundaries
Tap to Ocean
Multilateral - WTO Regional - SAFTA / BIMSTEC / Bangkok Agreement / Growth Quadrangle Bilateral - Nepal India/China/Bangladesh/Pakistan & Bhutan Saarc & EU Asian Highway-UN ESCAP
WTO
Part of global family of trade and legislation Global market access Diversification of products and markets possible Technical Assistance -Integrated Framework / Capacity Building Rights to Inherent & Indigenous Products Dispute settlement mechanism Priority to LDCs /Aid for Trade
WTO Policy
Rule based International trading System Member driven Organization Trade with global market access at competitive price of best quality product Harmonization of tariff - fusion with InfoTech Protection only through Tariff Trade Liberalization MFN to all members Quantity and Quota system restricted General agreement on trade & services (GATS)
Genesis
Virtual Collapse of the world economy in the 1930 due to global economic recession followed by World War II in 1940s International Meeting to hammer out strategy for the restructuring of the global economy - Bretton Woods Conference 1944 Three legs proposed to handle global economic restructuring World Bank, IMF, ITO
Genesis
IMF for facilitating world liquidity, World Bank for sectoral lending for restructuring and ITO for managing international trade Two legs of Bretton Woods (IMF and the World Bank) did come up but ITO could not because the US Senate refused to ratify the treaty
GATT
Multilateral Trade Treaty General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT) singed by 23 countries on 30th October 1947 at UN building in Geneva. It was a multilaterally agreed treaty related to tariffs imposed on goods Decision making body with a set of rules for the conduct of international trade in goods, and formulated mechanisms for trade liberalisation
GATT
This provided a forum for the contracting parties to discuss and solve trade problems and negotiate tariff reductions to increase trade volume From 1947 to 1994 GATT provided the rules for world trade Additions made through trade rounds
GATT
From the seventh round (Tokyo Round) attention moved to other areas as well (such as non-tariff barriers) During the eighth round (Uruguay Round) new issues were added (e.g., agriculture, textile and clothing, services, IPR, standards etc.) and a concept of single undertaking was introduced This round gave birth to an institution to oversee the implementation of GATT and other agreements which is known as WTO
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WTO
Successor of GATT, Operational from 1 January 1995 Permanent inter-governmental body governing and regulating international trade in goods, services and IPR Its an organisation for liberalising trade help trade flow as freely as possible Its a place for settling trade disputes
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WTO
WTO is based on four pillars
Promoting rules based multilateral trading system Non-discrimination (Most-Favored Nations and National Treatment) Transparency Special treatment for less developed countries
It has 153 members Decisions are made through consensus It provides for an effective dispute settlement system
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WTO
At the heart of the system are WTO Agreements, negotiated and signed by members These Agreements are contracts that bind governments to keep their trade policies within agreed limits
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WTO Agreements
The WTO Agreements cover goods, services and intellectual property They spell out principles of liberalisation and permitted exceptions They include individual countries commitment to lower custom tariffs and other trade barriers and open key services sectors : 22,500 pages listing individual countries commitments They set procedures for settling disputes
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Contd. )
Takes care of the regional imbalance in development. Para 3(1) a reads eliminating barriers to trade in, and facilitating the cross-border movement of goods between the territories of the Contracting States; Para 3(2) d reads SAFTA shall involve the free movement of goods, between countries through, inter alia, the elimination of tariffs, para tariffs and non-tariff restrictions on the movement of goods, and any other equivalent measures;
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The parties further agree to enhance trade facilitation in areas, including but not limited to, the following:
EC Free Trade Area says:
(a) Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs), conformity assessment, accreditation procedures and standards & technical regulations.
(b) Customs cooperation; (c) Trade finance; (d) E-commerce; and (e) Business Visa and travel facilitation
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Bangkok Agreement
China & India are the worlds fastest growing economy who are members. Sino India is also the worlds largest market in terms of headcount. It can provide both techno-financial and market support. SAARC, ASEAN & China can join hands to ensure the prosperous future for one-half of the world population. The geographical proximity between SAARC-China-Asean must be exploited for mutual benefit
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Growth Quadrangle
Nepal, East India, Bangladesh & Bhutan Cooperation Sub Regional Within SAARC Sectorial Development Like Trade, Transport, IT & Tourism etc. ADBs Sub Regional baby East Indias Focal Role
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Nepal India
Ocean Market / Sky Limit Preference Market Assess Value Addition Trade Balance Bilateral Within SAFTA/WTO Complementary & Supplementary 3rd Country Arrangement Like Pakistan & Bhutan
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Saarc & EU
Two of Worlds Largest Regional Cooperation Demand & Supply Asias Market size and resource EUs techno finance capacity Cooperation in WTO Win Win for both Economies
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Others
NAFTA (North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement) ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)