International trade law
International trade law encompasses the regulations governing the exchange of goods and services across national borders. This complex field addresses the need for countries to establish agreements related to taxation, safety, contracts, and dispute resolution to facilitate international transactions. Trade agreements can be bilateral, involving two nations, regional, involving multiple countries in a specific area, or multilateral, engaging most countries globally. Historically, countries endeavored to protect their markets through trade barriers, such as tariffs, but this often limited their own access to foreign markets. Consequently, international trade law promotes trade liberalization, aiming to reduce such barriers for mutual economic benefit.
Trade agreements come in various forms, including free trade areas, customs unions, single markets, and economic unions, each representing different levels of economic integration. Significant milestones in global trade law include the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which seeks to lower trade barriers and facilitate negotiations among member countries. Understanding international trade law is essential for navigating the complexities of global commerce and international relations.
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International trade law
International trade law is a large and complex area of study that deals with how the buying and selling of goods and services across national borders is regulated. Within one country, such matters are governed by national law, but in order for transactions to occur between countries, there has to be agreement between the countries regarding matters such as taxation, safety and security, contracts between buyers and sellers, and methods for resolving commercial disputes.
The simplest level of international trade law is a bilateral agreement, or a trade agreement between two countries. The next level is a regional trade agreement, involving a number of countries in a particular geographic area. The highest level of international trade law is a multilateral agreement involving most of the countries of the world.
Overview
Historically, countries have tried to protect their own businesses against competition from foreign businesses by erecting trade barriers, commonly in the form tariffs, or taxes on imported goods and services. However, because keeping foreign businesses out of a country’s market typically means that that country’s businesses are also kept out of foreign markets, a basic focus of international trade law has been agreements between countries to lower trade barriers for mutual benefit. This is known as “trade liberalization.” If barriers to trade are removed completely, it is known as “free trade.”
There are many kinds of regional trade agreements, or trade blocs, representing varying levels of economic integration among the members. A free trade area—such as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which involves Mexico, the United States, and Canada—provides for the elimination of most or all barriers to trade among the parties to the agreement; it does not influence the individual members’ relationships with nations outside the agreement, however. The next level is a customs union, which is a free trade area with a common set of trade barriers between all the members of the agreement and countries outside the agreement. An example of a customs union is the Andean Community, which includes the South American nations of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
A single market is a more advanced form of free trade area in which not only finished goods, but also factors of production, such as labor and capital, move freely between borders. An example of a single market is the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), made up of fifteen nations in the Caribbean area. An economic union is a single market with a customs union. The European Union is an example of an economic union. Trade blocs are typically formed among countries with fairly comparable levels of economic development, and higher levels of economic integration can also point to closer cultural and political ties as well.
Beyond regional economic agreements, there has been a movement since the mid-twentieth century to try to lower trade barriers between nations worldwide or at least provide a common forum for trade negotiations. The first global agreement of this nature was the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), signed in 1947 and intended to stimulate international trade in the years following World War II. Over one hundred nations eventually became GATT signatories, engaging in a series of lengthy rounds of trade negotiations, the last of which was known as the Uruguay Round; it began in 1986 and concluded in 1994 with the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which replaced GATT. In 2001, the WTO began another round of negotiations in Doha, Qatar, known as the Doha Development Round, which was ongoing as of 2013.
Bibliography
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Bhala, Raj. Dictionary of International Trade Law. 2nd ed. New Providence, NJ: LexisNexis, 2012. Print.
Folsom, Ralph H., et al. International Trade and Economic Relations in a Nutshell. 5th ed. St. Paul: West, 2012. Print.
“International Trade Law Research Guide.” Georgetown Law Library. Georgetown Univ. Law Lib., Dec. 2012. Web. 27 Sept. 2013.
Kaye, Harvey, and Christopher A. Dunn. International Trade Practice. Eagan, MN: Thompson Reuters, 2011. Print.
Lynch, David A. Trade and Globalization: An Introduction to Regional Trade Agreements. Lanham: Rowman, 2010. Print.
Narlikar, Amrita. The World Trade Organization: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford UP, 2005. Print.
Trebilcock, Michael, Robert Howse, and Antonia Eliason. The Regulation of International Trade. 4th ed. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.