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

- bong625@hufs.ac.kr

- 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