World Trade Law

World Trade Law

World trade law refers to the body of institutions and rules that have been created and nurtured following the Second World War to create an orderly legal environment with which to regulate global flows of goods and services (Charnovitz, 2011). While regional trade arrangements predate the 20th century, the current multilateral system is a more recent phenomenon, made possible by the postwar geopolitical context (Mazower, 2012).

Contents of World Trade Law

Contents of this subject matter include:

• Introduction: the basis of world trade – an examination of comparative advantage and asking the question: “why trade at all?” the ‘Buy Australia’ Campaign, the relationship between employment and trade in Australia, the de-regulation of the Dairy Industry, trade theories and comparative advantage
• An Introduction to the World Trade organization – GATT and the WTO, trade barriers, developing countries, WTO commitments, Harmonized Commodities, national Customs Tariffs and Rules of Origin
• The WTO – Non-Discrimination and the Exceptions: Most Favored Nation, National Treatment Principle, Trade Remedies, Dumping and Subsidies
• The WTO and the 6 Understandings: Tariffs, State Trading Enterprises, Balance of Payments, Regional Trade Agreements, Waivers, Modifications of Schedules, GATS and TRIPS
• The WTO and Regional Trade Agreements – Free Trade Areas and Customs Unions: Sensitive areas, Economic Theory, Historical analysis of Most Favored Nation, Trade Diversion and Trade Creation, GATT rules and the enabling clause
• The WTO and the Environment: the Environmentalist argument, the free trade argument, article XX exceptions, Technical Barriers to Trade, Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, environmental case law at the WTO
• The Bananas case – ACP and Dollar Bananas and European preferences, an application of principles learnt so far
• The international element in international sales contracts – Choice of forum: forum non conveniens in the UK and Australia, an analysis of the case law
• The international element in international sales contracts – Choice of law: an analysis of the case law
• International Sale of Goods under the Vienna Convention
• International Carriage of Goods and INCOTERMS
• Financing International Trade: the methods of financing an international transaction; the doctrine of strict compliance, fraud; letters of credit and the UCP Rules; the duties of banks in relation to documents

Creation of the WTO

Find information on creation of the WTO in this legal encyclopedia. Find also information on Legal and Governance Issues at the WTO in relation to:

• Antidumping
• The Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS)
• Trade Governance and Developing Countries

Dispute Settlement at the WTO

Find related information on Dispute Settlement at the WTO.

World Trade Law and Social Priorities

Find information in this legal encyclopedia about the following linkages:

• Trade Law and Public Health
• Trade Law and the Environment
• Trade Law and Cultural Goods

Resources

See Also

Further Reading

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