Handbook of International Trade Agreements: Country, regional and global approaches

by Robert E. Looney (Editor)

Overview

International trade has, for decades, been central to economic growth and improved standards of living for nations and regions worldwide. For most of the advanced countries, trade has raised standards of living, while for most emerging economies, growth did not begin until their integration into the global economy. The economic explanation is simple: international trade facilitates specialization, increased efficiency and improved productivity to an extent impossible in closed economies. However, recent years have seen a significant slowdown in global trade, and the global system has increasingly come under attack from politicians on the right and on the left. The benefits of open markets, the continuation of international co-operation, and the usefulness of multilateral institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have all been called into question. While globalization has had a broadly positive effect on overall global welfare, it has also been perceived by the public as damaging communities and social classes in the industrialized world, spawning, for example, Brexit and the US exit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The purpose of this volume is to examine international and regional preferential trade agreements (PTAs), which offer like-minded countries a possible means to continue receiving the benefits of economic liberalization and expanded trade. What are the strengths and weaknesses of such agreements, and how can they sustain growth and prosperity for their members in an ever-challenging global economic environment?

The Handbook is divided into two parts. The first, Global Themes, offers analysis of issues including the WTO, trade agreements and economic development, intellectual property rights, security and environmental issues, and PTAs and developing countries. The second part examines regional and country-specific agreements and issues, including NAFTA, CARICOM, CETA, the Pacific Alliance, the European Union, EFTA, ECOWAS, SADC, TTIP, RCEP and the TPP (now the CPTPP), as well as the policies of countries such as Japan and Australia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367580551
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/30/2020
Series:	Routledge International Handbooks
Pages:	492
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

About the Author

Robert E. Looney is a Distinguished Professor in the National Security Affairs Department at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey California, USA. He received his PhD in Economics from the University of California, Davis. He specializes in issues relating to economic development in the Middle East, Latin America and Africa. He has published 22 books, including: Economic Policymaking in Mexico: Factors Underlying the 1982 Crisis (Duke University Press), and Iraq’s Informal Economy: Reflections of War, Sanctions and Policy Failure (The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research). He has also edited four Routledge International Handbooks: Handbook of US-Middle East Relations (2009), Handbook of Oil Politics (2012), Handbook of Emerging Economies (2014), and Handbook of Transitions to Energy and Climate Security (2016). He is also the editor of the Routledge Europa Emerging Economies series.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations xi

The Editor and Contributors xiii

Preface xxv

Acknowledgements xxvii

Acronyms and Abbreviations xxviii

Part I Global Themes 1

1 Introduction Robert E. Looney 3

2 Regional trade agreements: Myths and misconceptions Kati Suominen 9

3 The WTO and regional/bilateral trade agreements Kimberly Ann Elliott 17

4 International agreements on intellectual property rights: TRIPS and beyond Keith E. Maskus 29

5 The spread of international trade agreements: A dynamics towards the 'spaghetti bowl' phenomenon? Zakaria Sorgho 41

6 The economic effects of FTAs Holger Breinlich 56

7 Trade agreements and economic development Christopher Stevens 67

8 The investment component of trade agreements Wolfgang Alschner 79

9 Trade agreements and national security: An economic approach Ryan Garcia Jonathan Lipow 91

10 Economic reform and service liberalization in developing countries: Can preferential trade agreements help? Leonardo Baccini 101

11 Gender rights and trade agreements Sophia Price 112

12 Trade agreements and the environment Inkyoung Kim 122

13 Neoliberal globalization and its opponents Anne L. Clunan 134

Part II Regional/Country Analysis 145

14 NAFTA Robert A. Blecker 147

15 CAFTA-DR: diverging trajectories and uneven development Mary Finley-Brook 166

16 CAKICOM Lester Henry 181

17 Mexico's approach to preferential agreements Luz Maria de la Mora Sanchez 192

18 CETA Kurt Hübner 209

19 Mercosur Walter Antonio Desiderá Neto 218

20 The Pacific Alliance Gian Luca Gardini 230

21 ALBA Asa Cusack 241

22 The European Union Christian Schweiger 251

23 TTIP Christoph Scherrer 261

24 EFTA Marius Vahl Aslak Berg 271

25 Eastern Partnership countries Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso 282

26 Trade agreements and regional integration: The European Union after Brexit Annette Bongardt Francisco Torres 296

27 The GCC trade agreements: regional integration challenges and opportunities Joseph A. Kéchichian 307

28 Liberalization without integration: Egypt and PTAs (1990-2010) Amr Adly 322

29 The African Union and the European Union: Trade reciprocity and/or economic development? Mark Langan 335

30 ECOWAS: An economic commitment that needs political strengthening Osaore Aideyan 348

31 SADC: Towards a deeper and wider union? Donald L. Sparks 359

32 COMESA: A case study B. Seetanah R. V. Sannassee S. Fauzel Paul Okiira Okwi 372

33 RCEP and Asian economic integration Ganeshan Wignaraja 384

34 The TPP: Origins and outcomes Jeffrey J. Schott 401

35 Japan's approach to preferential trade agreements Gregory P. Corning 412

36 Australia's approach to PTAs Richard Pomfret 423

Index 434