St. Gallen, Hochschule für Wirtschafts-, Rechts- und Sozialwiss., Diss., 1995. / Auch als Buchhandelsausg. u.d.T.: Schanz, Kai-Uwe: Internationale Unternehmensstrategien in der neuen WTO-Welthandelsordnung.

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.

Magister Legum - LLM / Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) began as a worldwide phenomenon in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Even then, it formed only a small portion of foreign investments for decades, as a greater percentage took the form of portfolio investments. This was the case for example in 1914, when 90% of all foreign investment flows took the form of portfolio investment. Over time, however, there was a steady shift in the composition of foreign investments. In fact, about a quarter of foreign investment flows took the form of FDI in the 1920s. The drop in portfolio investments came about as a result of the collapse of the world monetary system in the 1930s, provoked by World War 1 and the Great Depression. There was, however, a general drop in the two types of investment during the interwar years. Unlike portfolio investment, FDI proved amazingly resilient and gradually recovered in the late 1930s. FDI again improved with the end of the Second World War, and became even more prominent after the 1960s in developing countries. This was not the case, however, which was yet to have its share of FDI flow. The main focus of this study is to investigate why Cameroon lags behind other developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in terms of attracting FDI in spite of its membership of, and participation in, bilateral, regional and multilateral trade and investment treaties, and its attractive investment policies. The above argument applies explicitly to FDI because Regional Integration Agreements (RIAs) are said to boost FDI inflows from non-member countries. It is universally acknowledged that a well-designed policy framework for investment, capable of attracting FDI, would be productive and successful. Thus, for Cameroon to be competitive in attracting FDI, it is obliged to review its investment policies which continue to face the challenges of a changing global economy.

China’s behavior as a near-monopolist of rare earths has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years. This thesis first examines the underlying causes behind China’s rise to the status of rare-earths near-monopolist, including government support; lax environmental controls; unregulated production; and relatively low costs compared to the rest of the world. Second, the thesis also examines the preeminent international and domestic factors influencing China’s behavior as a near-monopolist of rare earths. International factors include international demand; international trade pressure; international price-setting authority issues; and geopolitical factors. I next identify domestic factors that exert influence over China’s rare earths-related behavior: environmental protection; rare earth resource protection; rare earths industry regulation; and protecting and aiding China’s domestic rare earths industry. The study concludes with a synthesis of the factors influencing China’s rare-earths-related behavior in the overall context of support and direction by China’s Central Government.

The proliferation of private voluntary standards (private standards) in international food trade has precipitated a surge of inter-disciplinary discourse on the topic. Conceptual premises have been diverse, but a common thread through the discourse has been their practical impact on developing-country producers (particularly small to medium scale ones). The present paper contributes to legal analyses of private standards. It builds upon existing discourse on rules-based responses to private standards, from the conceptual premise of the rule of law. The perspective of the paper is that private standards are creating conditions wherein the rule of law in international food trade is being placed under strain. With that, the utility of the rules-based system of international food governance has begun to diminish. The viewpoint in this paper is that, from the perspective of the WTO, responses to private standards should be underlain by considerations of safeguarding the rule of law. Underscoring this is that a rule of law approach is the most ideal, in the long-term, for the WTO system and for low income Members themselves. The paper concludes that this will entail a necessarily multipronged strategy towards the challenges presented by private standards – one which incorporates rules-based responses, other interventions from within the WTO, and responses from outside of the WTO. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

At the inception of the World trade organization (WTO) in 1995, the organization's provisions for a formal dispute settlement mechanism under the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU) stood out as state of the “art”, “crown” and “jewels” of the WTO. Fifteen years later on, an assessment of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB)’s judicial records shows that the system has indeed reduced the role of international diplomacy, while strengthening the rule of law in dispute settlement. The WTO-DSU’s independent Appellate Body, strict deadlines within which to settle disputes and binding panel recommendations certainly supersede the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) dispute settlement system. To date, 400 disputes have been lodged before the Dispute Settlement Body leading to establishment of over 140 panels and adoption of 218 panel/Appellate Body reports. However, what these statistics fail to show is the fact that the DSM is dominated by leading industrialized countries, notably the European Communities and the United States, at the expense of developing countries. The European communities and the United States in particular are said to be employing the DSU to achieve their aspirations in international trade. This arises from their retaliatory capacity to threaten weaker respondents from pursuing disputes against them among other reasons. It follows that despite of the uniqueness and widely recognized efficacy, the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism has largely failed to address the needs of developing/ least developed countries, especially in Africa. The system’s lack of meaningful remedies, lack of transparency and general insensitivity to the development concerns of African countries have worked to alienate African states from the dispute settlement process. The said shortcomings in the pattern and structure of the DSU have also been noted from all corners of WTO membership including the original architects of the System like India, Brazil and Australia. In light of the above, this research paper analyzes the process of dispute settlement at the WTO, with special emphasis on the nature of remedies available to parties under the DSU. The research identifies pertinent areas for reform in the DSU and the DSB as a whole. The research arrives at practical measures/alternatives that African countries could adopt in order to enhance participation in dispute settlement at the WTO. The research points out that WTO law is tailored through interpretation of covered agreements and precedents and that participation in the WTO dispute settlement system is therefore crucial to the shaping of WTO law in the long run. In the end, African countries (forming a large percentage of WTO Membership) have not made use of the dispute settlement mechanism despite their trade being affected by the protectionist trade policies of their developed counterparts. If the majority of WTO membership cannot access the DSM, then the WTO objective of enhancing security and predictability of the multilateral trading system remains fictitious. This research therefore adds to the voice of many that the amendment of the DSU is long overdue. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

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