The dispute settlement system of the World Trade Organisation has been referred to as the jewel in the crown of the WTO. Reviewing more thantwenty years of the system’s operation, this volume takes stock by providing an in-depth analysis of key issues that have emerged. The book collects and updates papers by a group of eminent experts that were presented at an international conference at the College of Europe in Bruges. The fundamental question of whether the system is in good shap...

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is one of the most important international organizations in existence today. It contains a set of disciplines that affect the ability of governments to impose trade restrictions, and has helped to support the steady expansion of international trade since the 1950s. The WTO has been the focus of vociferous protests by anti-globalization activists and has experienced great difficulties in agreeing to new trade rules since its establishment. At the same time...

Unilateral preferences granted by OECD countries introduced an inevitable tension between "more preferred" developing countries -- typically beneficiaries from pre-existing colonial regimes -- and other developing countries with respect to the effects of most-favored-nation liberalization by preference-granting countries. Concerns about preference erosion became an important point of debate in the the WTO Doha Development Agenda negotiations. Since the late 1990s, major OECD countries have si...

What requirements must Turkey the largest country among the candidate and accession countries meet to join the European Union? What progress has been made toward meeting them? This timely volume analyzes the economic challenges confronting Turkey in its quest to accede to the European Union (EU). It focuses on the extent to which Turkey is ready to join the Single Market, comply with the EU's body of economic regulations and directives, the Acquis Communautaire, and meet the Maastricht criter...

The importance of international technology diffusion (ITD) for economic development can hardly be overstated. Both the acquisition of technology and its diffusion foster productivity growth. Developing countries have long sought to use both national policies and international agreements to stimulate ITD. The ?correct? policy intervention, if any, depends critically upon the channels through which technology diffuses internationally and the quantitative effects of the various diffusion process...

This is a critical period for the WTO and for realizing the potential of trade as a driver of growth and poverty reduction. It is time for good intentions to be translated into solid multilateral agreements that promote development, and it is high time that the rich countries tore down their barriers. But trade agreements by themselves cannot guarantee growth and poverty reduction: aid for trade and internal reforms are needed too. On all this, detail matters and trade agreements are compl...

Despite troubled trade negotiations, global trade-and trade policy-will thrive in the twenty-first century, but with a bow to the past.Is the multilateral trading order of the twentieth century a historical artifact?Was the creation of the World Trade Organization in 1995 the high point of multilateral cooperation on trade? This new volume, edited by Bernard M. Hoekman and Ernesto Zedillo, assesses the relevance of the WTO in the context of the rise of China ...

As governments are major buyers of goods and services, foreign companies are keen to be able to participate in procurement opportunities on an equal footing with national firms. This has given rise to the inclusion of procurement disciplines in trade agreements and to internationally-agreed good regulatory practices in this important policy area. The contributions to this book examine how the dynamic mix of bilateral, regional, plurilateral and international norms on government procurement...

One feature of globalization is that barriers to international competition have come to be associated with differences in regulatory policies that increase the costs of engaging in cross-border sales. Such non-tariff measures (NTMs) have attracted growing attention from policy makers and raise important questions for policy research. This book provides a valuable overview of key issues related to NTMs and domestic regulation. It covers the classification and definition of NTMs, new sources...

The multilateral trade system rests on the principle of nondiscrimination. Unilateral trade preferences granted by developed countries can help beneficiary countries but can create tensions between 'preferred' developing countries--typically beneficiaries from pre-existing colonial regimes--and other developing countries. There is also concern about the potential erosion of these preferences through trade liberalization in the importing countries, an issue that has been important in the cu...

How can international trade agreements promote development and how can rules be designed to benefit poor countries? Can multilateral trade cooperation in the World Trade Organization (WTO) help developing countries create and strengthen institutions and regulatory regimes that will enhance the gains from trade and integration into the global economy? And should this even be done? These are questions that confront policy makers and citizens in both rich and poor countries, and they are the ...

The World Trade Organization (WTO) recently celebrated twenty years of existence. The general wisdom is that its dispute settlement institutions work well and its negotiation machinery goes through a phase of prolonged crises. Assessing the World Trade Organization overcomes this myopic view and takes stock of the WTO's achievements whilst going beyond existing disciplinary narratives. With chapters written by scholars who have closely observed the development of the WTO in recent years, t...