Magister Legum - LLM / This study examines the legal and policy objectives of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) with specific reference to international standards and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). The study sets out the history and development of the TBT Agreement and the relationship between the TBT Agreement and selected WTO Agreements. The study also explores the application and interpretation of the TBT Agreement under the WTO dispute settlement system. More importantly, the study addresses the legal, policy and practical implications of the TBT Agreement for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Africa. A central argument put forward in this study is that, albeit international standards have been recognised as an important tool for LDCs in Africa to gain access to foreign markets, there is no significant ‘political will’ and commitment from the key players in standardisation work, that is, the national governments, the private sector and the ISO. At the same time, some developed and developing countries tend to use their influence and involvement in the activities of the ISO as a means of promoting the use and adoption of their homegrown standards. The study proposes, among others, that a more participatory approach which encompasses representatives from consumer groups, the private sector and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from these LDCs in Africa, should be adopted

La doctrine du libre-échange a favorisé la création d’un cadre multilatéral en 1947 avec l’accord général sur les tarifs douaniers et le commerce (GATT) puis avec l’Organisation Mondiale du Commerce (OMC) en 1995. Les négociations commerciales multilatérales sous l’égide du GATT puis de l’OMC, aboutissent à une réduction considérable des droits de douane au niveau mondial. Or, devant la diminution progressive des droits de douane, un fort accroissement des barrières dites non tarifaires (BNT) apparaît.En effet, l’expansion du commerce international et l’extension des règles commerciales multilatérales à de nouveaux domaines, autrefois protégés, tels que l’agriculture, les services et la propriété intellectuelle ont amené beaucoup de pays à faire un usage plus intensif, voire « abusif » des barrières non tarifaires, une issue pour contourner la règle « libre-échangiste ».Ces barrières non tarifaires viennent ainsi compléter, voire remplacer les droits de douane et peuvent réduire, voire annuler la valeur des consolidations tarifaires. De plus, les BNT sont deux fois plus restrictives que les droits de douane, CNUCED, (2005) et elles limitent nettement plus l’accès aux marchés que les droits tarifaires, CNUCED, (2012). Egalement, les BNT peuvent prendre différentes formes, elles n’ont pas le même degré de restrictivité et ne s’appliquent pas de la même méthode. Elles varient en fonction des pays et des produits et correspondent à différents objectifs.La présente thèse s’inscrit dans le cadre des travaux de quantification des barrières non tarifaires et vise l’évaluation du degré de restrictivité des BNT tarifaires appliquées sur les importations des pays sud-méditerranéens (MED) en provenance des pays de l’Union Européenne (UE) dans le cadre de l’intégration euro-méditerranéenne. Ce travail de recherche introduit deux modèles économétriques : le premier modèle est une équation d’ « importations », il évalue l’ampleur des barrières non tarifaires appliquées sur les importations (corrigées des tarifs) des pays MED en provenance du partenaire UE et ceci à travers le calcul des équivalents tarifaires ad-valorem. Le second modèle est une équation gravitationnelle, il estime le rôle des BNT et les coûts de commerce dans les échanges UE-MED pour aboutir à une analyse plus fine de l’impact des BNT et d’autres barrières à l’échange à savoir : les droits de douane ; les coûts de transport ; la performance logistique ; les facteurs de la proximité culturelle et les facteurs institutionnels sur le commerce euro-méditerranéen. / The doctrine of free trade has promoted the creation of a multilateral framework in 1947 with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and then with the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995. Multilateral trade negotiations under the GATT and the WTO have resulted in a considerable reduction of tariffs worldwide. However, before the gradual reduction of tariffs, a strong increase in non-tariff barriers (NTBs) appeared.Indeed, the expansion of international trade and the expansion of multilateral trade rules to new areas previously protected, such as agriculture, services and intellectual property have led many countries to make more intensive use of non-tariff barriers, a way to overcome the " free-market " rule.These non-tariff barriers thus complement or replace tariffs and may reduce or cancel the value of tariff bindings. In addition, NTBs are twice as restrictive tariffs and imply a much more limited market access than tariffs. In addition, NTBs can take different forms, they do not have the same degree of restrictiveness and do not apply the same method. They vary across countries and products, and correspond to different objectives.This thesis aims to quantify non-tariff barriers and to assess their degree of restrictiveness on imports of Southern Mediterranean countries (MED) from the European Union (EU) in the framework of the Euro- Mediterranean integration. This research introduces two econometric models: the first model is an equation of "imports". It assesses the magnitude of non-tariff barriers applied by MED countries to the EU and other partners through the calculation of ad valorem tariff equivalents. The second model is a gravity equation. It considers the role of NTBs and trade costs in the EU -MED trade to achieve a more detailed analysis of the impact of NTBs and other barriers to trade, such as tariffs, transport costs, logistics performance as well as cultural proximity and institutional factors on the Euro- Mediterranean trade.

Quasi tutte le tariffe applicate al commercio internazionale sono vincolate dagli impegni sottoscritti dalle economie più avanzate ed ulteriori misure, volte ad aumentare il livello di protezione, non dovrebbero poter essere, di norma, utilizzate. Tuttavia, l’introduzione di un crescente numero di barriere non tariffarie (BNT) ha recentemente favorito il proliferare di dispute e conflitti commerciali fra gli Stati. Il regolamento dell’Organizzazione Mondiale del Commercio (OMC) considera legittime le motivazioni che sono alla base di alcune di queste misure non tariffarie quali quelle a tutela dell’ambiente, della salute o della sicurezza delle persone. Sebbene gli stessi regolamenti dell’OMC impongano agli Stati di addurre giustificazioni credibili per le loro misure in materia di politica commerciale, gli stessi regolamenti dovrebbero, al contempo, essere anche in grado di identificare eventuali finalità protezionistiche promosse da specifici gruppi di interesse. Barriere Tecniche al Commercio (TBT) sono uno specifico sottogruppo delle BNT il cui grado di complessità le rende spesso poco chiare sia sul piano delle ragioni che le giustificano che delle implicazioni che possono conseguire dalla loro applicazione. In questa tesi, vengono messi in luce alcuni particolari aspetti relativi alle BNT ed agli Specific Trade Concerns (STC). Nel primo capitolo, vengono analizzate le determinanti delle BNT e degli STC nel periodo 1995-2011. Nel secondo capitolo, gli effetti delle BNT e degli STC adottate dall’Europa, dagli Stati Uniti e dalla Cina sono analizzati considerando settori a 4-digit derivanti dall’Harmonized System. Nel terzo capitolo, viene proposta un analisi costi-benefici di equilibrio parziale riguardante l’impatto, in termini di benessere, dell’adozione una BNT restrittiva tesa a impedire l’afflusso di uno specifico prodotto dalle caratteristiche sgradite. Nel complesso, questa tesi pone un enfasi maggiore sulla complessità delle suddette BNT fornendo migliori intuizioni sulle loro determinanti e le loro implicazioni. / Almost all tariff lines are bound within the schedules of concessions of developed countries, and duties cannot be used to increase the level of protection. Instead, increasing number of non-tariff measures (NTMs) have given rise to disputes and trade conflicts. World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations consider certain motivations behind imposition of these instruments to be legitimate such as those related to human, environment, health, and safety issues. While regulations of the WTO oblige governments to provide justifiable reason behind their trade policy instruments, they might as well seek for the sale of their industrial protection to some special interest groups supporting them. Technical Barriers to Trade (TBTs) are a sub-category of NTMs with complex nature whose either motivations or implications are not very clear. In this dissertation, I shed light on some aspects of NTMs with specific focus on TBT and Specific Trade Concerns (STCs). In the first chapter, I study the determining factors of TBT STCs over the period 1995-2011. In the second chapter, the trade effects of these TBT STCs maintained by the European Union, China, and the United States at 4-digit level of Harmonized System will be analysed. In the third chapter, I provide a cost-benefit analysis in a partial equilibrium framework to quantify the welfare consequences of a prohibitive NTM which is aimed at a foreign product with negative characteristics. Overall, this dissertation emphasizes more on the complexity of NTMs and it provides us with better insights on the determinants and implications of these trade policy measures.

Difference between technical standards, legislation and certification and testing procedures in specific EU countries complicates unification of international markets. Therefore international standards and procedures for conformity assessment of products that are connected to Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade have been created. Completion of all requirements, standards, procedures and marking, including proposals regarding resolving problematic areas, is the main content of this diploma thesis.

La riduzione delle barriere tariffarie ha spostato il dibattito tra gli esperti di commercio internazionale sulle misure protezionistiche alternative (regole d'origine, proprietà intellettuale etc.). inoltre durante gli ultimi dieci anni la proliferazione degli accordi commerciali regionali ha acuito i timori di coloro che ritengono che la strada verso la liberalizzazione dei flussi commerciali internazionali debba passare attraverso l'OMC. questa tesi analizza il nesso tra i rimedi di difesa commerciale, le barriere tecniche al commercio e gli accordi commerciali regionali mediante un esercizio di mappatura di 53 accordi. tale mappatura è sviluppata mediante l'impiego di tabelle che riassumono il contenuto di ogni accordo per quanto concerne le barriere tecniche al commercio e i rimedi di difesa commerciale. Inoltre il presente lavoro effettua una ricognizione della letteratura empirica e teorica sull'argomento fornendo infine un contributo originale mediante l'utilizzo di un modello probit per l'analisi dei dati raccolti. i risultati ottenuti in parte confermano ed in parte smentiscono, a volte anche in maniera contro-intuitiva, alcuni fatti stilizzati dalla letteratura. / The reduction of tariff duties at multilateral and regional level has shifted the focus of international trade debate to other beyond-the-border protectionist measures (i.e. rules of origin, intellectual property, trade remedies etc.). Further during the last ten years the proliferation of regionalism has increased more and more the concern in the supporters of multilateral trading system. This thesis explores the linkages among trade remedies, technical barriers to trade and regional trade agreements. This analysis is performed through the creation of 4 benchmarking exercises (templates) mapping the provisions relevant to antidumping measures, countervailing duties, safeguards measures and technical barriers to trade included in 53 regional trade agreements. The aim of this thesis is to overview both theoretically and empirically the existing relevant literature in order to supply an original contribution to the understanding of the subject. The collection and the processing of the data offer some insight and, sometimes, counterintuitive findings about the modelling of trade remedies and technical barriers provisions in the regional trade agreements.

El presente trabajo de investigación tiene como objetivo analizar las importaciones de petróleo en el marco del proceso de integración del Perú con la Comunidad Andina de Naciones durante el periodo 2000 - 2010. A lo largo del proceso, se identificó plantear como objetivos conocer el impacto del comercio multilateral entre Perú y la CAN enfocado en las importaciones de petróleo; así como la influencia de las barreras arancelarias y para arancelarias como: las medidas de defensa comercial y los obstáculos técnicos. La metodología utilizada para esta investigación fue de diseño mixto a través del modelo gravitacional. Para el proceso de recolección de información primaria se empleó la búsqueda de antecedentes epistemológicos, bases teóricas y el uso de documentos que contuvieran información estadística. Además, se realizaron entrevistas semi-estructuradas a empresas relacionadas al sector petrolero, al organismo de integración económica (CAN), así como también, entrevistas a expertos en comercio y economía. Por otro lado, para procesar la información se utilizó el software Atlas.ti® y Stata 13 bajo la técnica de triangulación de datos, contrastando los antecedentes, la información del marco teórico, el resultado de las entrevistas y el análisis estadístico de las variables de la investigación. Luego de realizar el desarrollo de la investigación se concluyó que la variable que presenta alta influencia sobre las importaciones de petróleo desde la CAN son las barreras arancelarias. El resultado del estudio tiene como fin contribuir a futuras investigaciones, ya sea desde la misma u otra perspectiva. / The objective of this research work is to analyze oil imports in the framework of the integration process of Peru with the Andean Community of Nations during the period 2000 - 2010. Throughout the process, it was identified to propose as objectives to know the impact of the multilateral trade between Peru and the CAN focused on oil imports; as well as the influence of tariff and tariff barriers such as: trade defense measures and technical obstacles. The methodology used for this research was of mixed design through the gravitational model. For the process of collecting primary information, the search for epistemological antecedents, theoretical bases, and the use of documents that contained statistical information were used. In addition, semi-structured interviews are conducted with companies related to the oil sector, the economic integration body (CAN), as well as interviews with experts in trade and economy. On the other hand, to process the information, the Atlas.ti® and Stata 13 software will be seen under the technique of data triangulation, contrasting the background, the information of the theoretical framework, the result of the interviews and the statistical analysis of the variables of the research After carrying out the research, it was concluded that the variable that has a high influence on oil imports from the CAN is the tariff barriers. The result of the study is intended to contribute to future research, either from the same or another perspective. / Tesis