Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / "The implications of state trading, and the costs and benefits of GATT membership; with illustrations from the stell industry." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-64).

Due to the abortion of the proposed Havana Charter and non-participation of the USSR and other State trading economies in the Charter negotiations, GATT has been acting as a traders' club - a club mainly beneficial to western •market economies. Its rules are formulated almost exclusively in favor of free trade on a comparative advantage and private enterprise basis. There is virtually no place for NMEs to have effective access. As one of the pivots of post-World-War-II multilateralism, GATT assumes a major role in compromising, integrating, regulating and supervising diversified member nations' trade laws and policies. Its legal framework, however, is inadequate to deal with the integration of NME. This is because GATT is framed essentially along the line of market ideology and minimal government intervention. NMEs, on the other hand, discard market ideology and adopt wholesale government intervention and central planning as a basic form of economy. While trading practice in NMEs is basically incompatible with the GATT-promoted free trade rules, accommodations were made to facilitate NMEs' request for membership. Consequently, Poland, Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia became GATT members respectively during the 1960s and 70s. At that time East European countries maintained command state trading thus were unable to be fully integrated into the GATT-based international trade order. During negotiations on terms of NMEs' accession to GATT, GATT countries adopted an import commitments approach to solve the central and much debated issue of market access to NME countries. Despite its merits, the approach has been criticized notwithstanding the fact that no alternative has been suggested. Accordingly, the primary objective of the thesis is to rethink the existing approaches to NMEs in order to explore new ways of effectively integrating NMEs into the GATT legal framework. By approaching the thesis problem carefully, the writer arrives at the conclusion that although GATT would need new assumptions with a view to regaining a new consensus of broader international representation and participation, a considerable and substantial decentralization in the NME is unavoidable in order to adapt themselves into the GATT framework. In the meantime, it is stressed that all GATT countries should continue to facilitate NMEs' access to the GATT forum in the hope that NMEs being potential world traders would increase world prosperity and understanding by broader participation. World prosperity, needless to say, is the best guarantee of world peace and security. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 407-421).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Stanford University, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 222-234).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Union Institute, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 171-178).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 313-324).

M.A.

This thesis aspires to assess the explanatory value of different theories of international cooperation for the case of the world trade regime of GATT/WTO and subsequently strives to reach a satisfactory interpretation of the instance of cooperation. The world trade regime embarked on a process of transformation with the signing of the Marrakech Agreements of 15th April 1994. The event marked the conclusion of the Uruguay Round and, with the establishment of the WTO, the beginning of a new era for the world trade regime. The thesis endeavours to establish the substance of the regime change from GATT to the WTO. It outlines the most significant provisions of the agreement of the Uruguay Round and, subsequently, analyses the change on the level of regime norms underlying the world trade regime. The analysis of regime norms yields insights about the essence of the regime transformation and as to what factors proved to be conducive to cooperation in the sphere of the world trade. The GATT/WTO regime with its extended scope and more sophisticated institutional structures can be regarded as a prime example of successful cooperation. However, the prospects for cooperation between states in an anarchic environment without central authority for enforcement are the subject of a remarkably intense scholarly debate. Therefore it is worthwhile to examine which theoretical framework proves to be most adept at elucidating the circumstances of this instance of cooperation. This thesis applies different theories of international cooperation to the case of the GATT/WTO regime. While a large array of rational theories attempts to explain cooperation from a perspective which focuses on interests and capabilities, a different strand of theories, that of cognitive approaches, emphasizes the paramountcy of ideas and beliefs as variables which explain cooperation. They endogenize the process of interest formation. This thesis seeks to synthesise the strong points of rational and cognitive approaches and thus to reconcile the divergent schools of thought. Its further purpose is to set out factors which are conducive to cooperation.

The Non-Agricultural Market Access Negotiations (NAMA) are being undertaken as part of the Doha Round of negotiations. NAMA negotiations are aimed at the trade liberalisation of industrial goods. Pursuant to the ‘development agenda’ adopted for the Doha Round, the NAMA negotiations also emphasise the development component. Particular emphasis is be made on tariff reductions in products of export interest to developing countries and the negotiations are to take special account of the needs and interests of developing countries, including through less than full reciprocity in accordance with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provisions on special and differential treatment (SDT). This research attempts to determine this ‘development agenda’ through the prism of special and differential treatment as provided for in the NAMA mandate. An analysis of the SDT provisions in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and their application within the multilateral trading system reveals that SDT is a very controversial concept. Developing countries have used SDT to escape the strictures of multilateral trading rules and developed countries have used it as a ‘carrot and stick’ tool, to gain concessions from developing countries in other areas. SDT has further been revealed as a concept whose meaning and content is not very precise. While the provisions in the GATT as well as the Enabling Clause make good political and economic sense, they are not really actionable. This is because the concept is characterised by best-endeavour provisions that lack any legal force and cannot be adjudicated in the WTO Dispute Settlement Body. Developed countries have thus not been called and cannot be called, legally, to account for lack of delivery on their commitments and obligations with regard to SDT. This has effectively constrained the use of SDT as a development tool within the WTO, and, being the only tool being utilised, there needs to be found an alternative way to address development needs in the WTO. The WTO has sought to address this through efforts to amend SDT to make it more precise, effective and operational. The content and meaning of the ‘development agenda’ itself in the Doha Round is very elusive and an effort is made in this paper to determine the appropriate meaning of development in relation to the multilateral trading system. Development as an objective in the WTO is not novel to the Doha Round. The WTO is littered with references to development and the betterment of the human condition in its preamble to agreements and other provisions. Development has to be considered in al its three dimensions: social, political and economical. While this paper does not advocate that the WTO become a fully fledged development institution, it can shape its development agenda in such a way that benefits on the economic front are designed to stimulate socio-economic development as well. An analysis of the NAMA modalities reveals that mercantilist objectives have triumphed in the negotiations and SDT has been lost by the wayside. Developed countries have sought for radical tariff reductions on the part of developing countries, with meagre flexibilities that are further constrained by requirements that no full sector be excluded from the formula cuts. SDT has not been considered and the commitments are not proportional to the development capacity of most developing countries. This is in direct contradiction to the SDT provisions in the GATT that are supposed to guide the negotiations as well as the provision on tariff negotiations. However, the modalities are not legally contestable because the SDT provisions do not hold any legal suasion. The NAMA negotiations reveal a development vacuity within the WTO that needs to be resolved by other means other than the traditional SDT. Taking into consideration the evolving power bases and the politics of the membership of the WTO, this is an imperative. This paper proposes that Aid for Trade is the best option available to the WTO system. The concept does find support in GATT/WTO provisions on SDT and can be modified to be more predictable and sustainable. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

Magister Legum - LLM / Over the past decade countries have embraced globalisation. The depth and influence of globalisation has grown significantly since the 19th century. Globalisation has accelerated mainly due to increased integration in trade with bilateral, regional and multilateral trade negotiations on the rise. Multinational companies have also enlarged which enable production to be done seamlessly in different countries, increase in capital flows such as purchase of assets and bonds has also contributed. Furthermore, the surge on technological innovations and advancement cannot be ignored when one speaks of globalisation this era has been dubbed the technological era additionally there is also the role of migration which enhances labor movements. The world has rapidly shrunk to one global economy. After the World War II countries began to move away from protectionism to liberalised trade and this resulted in the formation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) then the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which is comprised of 164-member states. The WTO regulates trade and promotes free trade. Over the years the organisation has been evolving to deal with issues such as climate and technical assistance. Global trade presents challenges which may give rise to the need for countries to protect their domestic industries for political and economic reasons.