Multilateralizing Regionalism: Challenges for the Global Trading System

by Richard Baldwin (Editor), Patrick Low (Editor)

Overview

Regional trade agreements (RTAs) have proliferated around the world in the past two decades, and now nearly all members of the WTO are party to at least one. Besides tariffs and rules of origin regulating trade in goods, many RTAs now include provisions on services, investments, technical barriers to trade and competition rules, as well as a host of issues not directly related to trade. The geographic reach of RTAs is expanding, with transcontinental agreements spreading forcefully alongside intra-regional agreements. 'Multilateralizing Regionalism' was the title of a major conference held from 10–12 September 2007 at the WTO in Geneva. Brought together in this publication, the conference papers achieve two things. First, they marshall detailed, new empirical work on the nature of the 'Spaghetti Bowl' and the problems it poses for the multilateral trade system. Second, they contribute fresh and creative thinking on how to 'tame the tangle' of regional trade agreements.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781139179294
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/19/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Patrick Low is Chief Economist (Director of Economic Research and Statistics) at the World Trade Organization.
Richard Baldwin is Professor of International Economics at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva.

Table of Contents

Foreword Pascal Lamy; Introduction Richard Baldwin and Patrick Low; Part I. Background to Regionalism: 1. An historical perspective of regionalism Theresa Carpenter; 2. The landscape of regional trade arrangements and WTO surveillance Roberto V. Fiorentino, Jo-Ann Crawford and Christelle Toqueboeuf; Part II. Multilateralisaton - Prospects and Past Experience: 3. Beyond tariffs: multilateralising non-tariff RTA commitments Simon Evenett and Patrick Low; Comment S. Miroudot; 4. Multilateralising regionalism: lessons from the EU experience in relaxing rules of origin Michael Gasiorek; 5. The information technology agreement: sui generis or model stepping stone? Catherine Mann and Xuepeng Liu; Comment Alejandro Jara; Part III. Multilateralisation - Sectors and Themes: 6. Services provisions in regional trade agreements: stumbling or building blocks for multilateral liberalization? Carsten Fink and Marion Jansen; 7. Harmonizing preferential rules of origin regimes around the world Jeremy Harris; Comment Olivier Cadot; 8. Legal avenues to 'multilateralising regionalism': beyond article XXIV Joost Pauwelyn; Part IV. Multilateralization - Regional Perspectives: 9. Multilateralising regionalism: case study of African regionalism Peter Draper and Mzukisi Qobo; 10. Multilateralising RTAs in the Americas Antoni Estevadeordal, Matthew Shearer and Kati Suominen; Comment Marcelo Olearraga; 11. Multilateralising regional trade arrangements in Asia Masahiro Kawai and Ganesh Wignaraja; Comment I. Cheong; 12. Fitting Asia-Pacific agreements into the WTO system Gary Hufbauer and Jeffrey Shott; 13. Multilateralising preferential trade agreements: a developing country perspective Bernard Hoekman and L. Alan Winters; Comment P. Levy; 14. The challenge of negotiating RTAs for developing countries. What could the WTO do to help? Jim Rollo; Comment C. Barfield.