In the last twenty years, regional trade agreements have proliferated. These have usually taken the form of customs unions (CUs) or free trade areas (FTAs). This thesis concentrates mostly on the formation and behaviour of CUs. Union members levy a common external tariff (CET) on non-members. Existing theoretical models, however, do not agree on how the CET rate is chosen. Every model imposes a different choice rule exogenously. In this thesis, for the first time, plausible choice rules, based on the CU's social welfare function, are derived endogenously. The strategic behaviour of members and non-members, reveals that responsibility for CET choice tends to be assumed by the member that can induce the rest of the world to levy those tariffs members prefer to face. Relatively few general results exist describing the relationship between country characteristics and trade bloc formation. Here, new light is shed on this issue, by systematically analysing bloc formation in an asymmetric world, and investigating the role of preferences in coalition formation. It is found that global free trade is most likely to arise when all countries are similar. Customs unions tend to form between relatively well-endowed countries or those with similar preferences. It is also demonstrated that CUs will usually Pareto dominate FTAs, except where preferences differ significantly. The role of transfers in CU formation has received relatively little attention in the regionalism literature. In this thesis, optimal intra-union transfers are introduced and their impact on CET choice is investigated. The impact of transfers on CU behaviour depends on the direction of the transfer. When the relatively inelastic member is the recipient, the CU responds less aggressively to non-member tariff choices than it does when transfers are not permitted. However, if the relatively elastic member is the transfer recipient, the union's aggression increases. Moreover, when one union member exercises a similar degree of control over both CET and transfer choice, then the equilibrium CET tends to be lower than in the corresponding no-transfers situation.

Šiuolaikinis pasaulinis ūkis pasižymi nuolatos vykstančiais integraciniais procesais, visos šalys dalyvauja tarptautin÷je prekyboje, išskyrus tokias retas išimtis kaip Šiaur÷s Kor÷ja. Šalys d÷l įvairiausių priežasčių jungiasi į asociacijas, bendrijas, sąjungas, sudarydamos sutartis, konvencijas, susitarimus. Globalizacijos procesas daro reikšmingos įtakos tarptautin÷ms kapitalo rinkoms, prekių rinkoms, makroekonominei (biudžeto) politikai, pramon÷s santykiams ir darbo rinkos reglamentavimui. Šiuolaikiniame pasauliniame ūkyje, vykstant globalizacijos procesams, šalys jungiasi į integracines grupuotes, o integraciniai procesai keičia pasaulinę ūkio struktūrą, darbo pasidalijimą, gamybos veiksnių jud÷jimo apimtis ir mastą. Šiaur÷s Amerikos laisvosios prekybos sutarties (original. klb. North American Free Trade Agreement) šalių integracin÷ grupuot÷ – viena stambiausių ir ekonomiškai stipriausių pasaulio integracinių grupuočių. Šiaur÷s Amerikos laisvosios prekybos sutartis (NAFTA) – tai sutartis, sudaryta tarp Kanados, Jungtinių Amerikos Valstijų ir Meksikos. NAFTA’os susitarimas pasirašytas 1994 m. sausio 1 d. NAFTA – tai trišal÷ prekybin÷ Šiaur÷s Amerikos šalių integracin÷ grupuot÷. Šiaur÷s Amerikos laisvosios prekybos sutartis sudaryta pratęsiant 1989 m. Kanados ir JAV laisvosios prekybos sutartį. NAFTA, priešingai nei ES, neturi nei antinacionalinių valdžios organų, nei įstatymin÷s sistemos, viršesn÷s už nacionalines. NAFTA – tai sutartis, sudaryta vadovaujantis tarptautine... [to full text] / Integrative processes are very characteristic to contemporary global economy, every country participates in the international trade, except for such rare exceptions as North Korea. Due to various circumstances countries integrate into associations, communities, unions, by concluding agreements, conventions and contracts. The process of globalizations makes significant influence on international markets of capital, product markets, macroeconomic (budget) policy, industrial relationship and on the regulation of labour market. In contemporary global economy, in the presence of globalization, countries integrate into integrative groups, as a result, the integrative processes change the structure of the global economy, labour division, volumes and scope of production. The integrative group of North American Free Trade Agreement is one of the largest and economically strongest world’s integrative groups. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an agreement, which was concluded among Canada, United States of America and Mexico. NAFTA was concluded on the 1st of January 1994. NAFTA is a trilateral integrative group of North America. North American Free Trade Agreement was concluded as an extension of Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. NAFTA, contrary to EU, has nor antinational organs of authority, neither legislative system, which would be superior to national legislative system. NAFTA is an agreement, which was concluded following the international legislative... [to full text]

This thesis employs a dynamic form of the gravity model and data from 1988-2005 to estimate the effects of RTAs in SSA on intra-African trade. The thesis proposes a better approach to examining member-nonmember trade relations of RTAs. This thesis is unique because it uses System GMM estimator to overcome econometric issues associated with estimating dynamic models. The results suggest that COMESA and SADC has led to a significant increase in intra and extra-RTA trade. ECOWAS has increased intra-ECOWAS trade but decreased extra-ECOWAS trade. ECCAS has had a negative impact on both intra-ECCAS and extra-ECCAS trade flows. The proposed approach of examining member-nonmember relationships provides better estimates. A comparative analysis is made to shed light on how high or low the trade creation effect of RTAs in SSA are. The results of this thesis support the view that the impact of RTAs in SSA is higher than perceived. / x, 61 leaves ; 29 cm

The purpose of this paper was to examine the impact that the proliferation of regional trade agreements have had on the Multilateral Trading System and whether by allowing regional trade agreements under the World Trade Organization rules, the members of the World Trade Organization have not unwittingly weakened the multilateral trading system. It also examined the effect the proliferation of regional trade agreements have had on the special and deferential treatment for developing countries within the system.

In the last twenty years, regional trade agreements have proliferated. These have usually taken the form of customs unions (CUs) or free trade areas (FTAs). This thesis concentrates mostly on the formation and behaviour of CUs. Union members levy a common external tariff (CET) on non-members. Existing theoretical models, however, do not agree on how the CET rate is chosen. Every model imposes a different choice rule exogenously. In this thesis, for the first time, plausible choice rules, based on the CU's social welfare function, are derived endogenously. The strategic behaviour of members and non-members, reveals that responsibility for CET choice tends to be assumed by the member that can induce the rest of the world to levy those tariffs members prefer to face. Relatively few general results exist describing the relationship between country characteristics and trade bloc formation. Here, new light is shed on this issue, by systematically analysing bloc formation in an asymmetric world, and investigating the role of preferences in coalition formation. It is found that global free trade is most likely to arise when all countries are similar. Customs unions tend to form between relatively well-endowed countries or those with similar preferences. It is also demonstrated that CUs will usually Pareto dominate FTAs, except where preferences differ significantly. The role of transfers in CU formation has received relatively little attention in the regionalism literature. In this thesis, optimal intra-union transfers are introduced and their impact on CET choice is investigated. The impact of transfers on CU behaviour depends on the direction of the transfer. When the relatively inelastic member is the recipient, the CU responds less aggressively to non-member tariff choices than it does when transfers are not permitted. However, if the relatively elastic member is the transfer recipient, the union's aggression increases. Moreover, when one union member exercises a similar degree of control over both CET and transfer choice, then the equilibrium CET tends to be lower than in the corresponding no-transfers situation.

Thesis (M.A.)--Dalhousie University, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-154).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Arizona State University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [243]-267).

Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-05T18:29:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-03. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2016-02-05T18:32:56Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000697754.pdf: 680931 bytes, checksum: 5a61ac3a97c2a48d7f8ce7672611edcc (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / O presente trabalho é uma reflexão sobre o processo da integração regional na Comunidade de Desenvolvimento da África Austral (SADC). Aborda os desafios e limites para o aprofundamento da integração, no período que vai desde a reestruturação da SADC em 2001 até à dificuldade de estabelecimento da União Aduaneira em 2010. Durante esse período, o processo de integração regional progrediu lentamente sem que houvesse distribuição igual de ganhos entre os países pertencentes ao bloco. Argumenta-se que a múltipla filiação dos Estados da SADC tem sido obstáculo para o aprofundamento da integração regional. Analisa-se os principais desafios para o aprofundamento da integração e desenha perspectivas para o futuro. / This work intends to reflect on the process of regional integration in Southern African Development Community (SADC). It discusses the challenges and limits to the deepening of integration in the period from the restructuring of SADC in 2001 to the difficulty of establishing the Customs Union in 2010. During this period, the regional integration process has moved slowly and there was no equal distribution of gains among the SADC member states. The argument hereof sugests as the main obstacles to further integration: the multiple membership of SADC member states to the various regional blocs.

O Programa de Pós-Graduação em Relações Internacionais é instituído em parceria com a Unesp/Unicamp/PUC-SP, em projeto subsidiado pela CAPES, intitulado "Programa San Tiago Dantas" / Orientador: Luis Ayerbe / Banca: Tullo Vigevani / Banca: Carlos Eduardo de Carvalho / Resumo: O presente trabalho é uma reflexão sobre o processo da integração regional na Comunidade de Desenvolvimento da África Austral (SADC). Aborda os desafios e limites para o aprofundamento da integração, no período que vai desde a reestruturação da SADC em 2001 até à dificuldade de estabelecimento da União Aduaneira em 2010. Durante esse período, o processo de integração regional progrediu lentamente sem que houvesse distribuição igual de ganhos entre os países pertencentes ao bloco. Argumenta-se que a múltipla filiação dos Estados da SADC tem sido obstáculo para o aprofundamento da integração regional. Analisa-se os principais desafios para o aprofundamento da integração e desenha perspectivas para o futuro. / Abstract: This work intends to reflect on the process of regional integration in Southern African Development Community (SADC). It discusses the challenges and limits to the deepening of integration in the period from the restructuring of SADC in 2001 to the difficulty of establishing the Customs Union in 2010. During this period, the regional integration process has moved slowly and there was no equal distribution of gains among the SADC member states. The argument hereof sugests as the main obstacles to further integration: the multiple membership of SADC member states to the various regional blocs. / Mestre

The Ressano Garcia Border Post on the Mozambique side and the Lebombo Border post on the South African side represent the link between two of the three Maputo Corridor countries that receives the largest amount of freight traffic along the Corridor. The link has been identified as a major obstacle to the free movement of goods. As a result the process of the establishment of a One Stop Border Post was mooted by the former president Thabo Mbeki and his counter-part in Mozambique Mr. Joaquim Chissano in a bilateral agreement between these two countries. The reasons for these developments are prompted by the protracted problems that have beset intra-regional trade. For example, transport infrastructure in the region imposes significant costs on intra-regional and regional trade transactions. Long delays at border posts add to the intra-regional trade costs. The requirements by the 1996 SADC trade protocol, the basis of the FTA — that member states eliminate non-tariff barriers — poses special problems as it represents different things to different SADC member states. Addressing the SADC summit on 16 August 2006, the then South African President Thabo Mbeki said “the launch of the FTA was much more than a simple acknowledgement that the majority of traded goods in the region are duty-free. Rather we should view the achievement of this milestone as a major step towards addressing the fundamental challenges of poverty and underdevelopment through deeper integration and economic development” (Mbeki, 2006:16). Now that there will be one centre that clears all the documents for the transporters this will effectively culminate in the speedy processing of the documents. There will be no need for the transporters to stop at the other country’s customs offices to do the same job. Once the documents are complete the process is complete, because the barriers are removed between the two countries.