14 November 2003
Seminar on Regional Trade Agreements and the
WTO
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09:00-09:15
Welcoming Words
Roderick
Abbott, Deputy Director-General, WTO
09:15-09:45
Session 1: RTAs, the multilateral trading
system and the doha development agenda: current trends and future
directionsBack to top
As negotiations of RTAs assume an ever more prominent role on the trade agenda of many WTO Members, keeping track of the number and scope of these agreements is becoming an increasingly elusive task. Taking stock of recent developments both regionally and multilaterally, in the context of the negotiations on RTA rules of the Doha Development Agenda, will provide an overview of the current global trading landscape and offer hints on its possible future directions.
RTAs and the multilateral trading system: recent developments in the global and regional trade agendas
Clem Boonekamp, Director, Trade Policies Review Division, WTO
> Download: PowerPoint presentation 1415KB
> Download: Paper, Word document 693KB
09:45-10:45
Session 2: RTAs and MFN in the global
economy: divergent or convergent paths?Back to top
There is an active debate on the impact that the proliferation of RTAs may have on the objective of multilateral trade liberalization and its underlying principles of non-discrimination and transparency. Recent developments in the global/regional landscape can be viewed from different prisms.
The case for free trade and the role of RTAs
Donald MacLaren, Professor, Department of Economics, University of Melbourne
> Download: PowerPoint presentation 223KB
> Download: Paper, pdf document 386KBCompetitive liberalization and the role of RTAs
Jeffrey J. Schott, Senior Fellow, Institute for International Economics (IIE), USA
> Download: PowerPoint presentation 57KB
11:00-12:00
Session 3: RTAs as a development tool: to
what extent and under which conditions?Back to top
Case studies of South-South and North-South integration will clarify the significance of RTAs as instruments to enhance trade, foster economic development and facilitate the integration of developing economies into the global trading system.
Lessons from South-South Agreements: the case of Latin America
Alberto J. Dumont, Secretary for Industry, Trade and Small and Medium Enterprises, Argentina, former Vice-Chair of the CRTA, WTONorth-South Agreements: Integrating developing countries into the World Trading System?
Sanoussi Bilal, Senior Programme Officer, ECDPM, The Netherlands
> Download: presentation, pdf document, 390KB
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12:00-13:00
Session 4: Regulatory provisions in RTAs: can
and should they be symmetrical?Back to top
Depending on its design, the trade regulatory regime enforced among parties to a given RTA may operate in a manner which adds to or detracts from parallel trade liberalization efforts pursued in other contexts. The discussion in this session will focus on the impact of concurrent trade regulatory regimes, and will explore possible paths leading to a more harmonious global trade regime.
A legal overview of RTAs' regulatory provisions: crossing the boundaries of GATT Article XXIV?
James H. Mathis, Department of International Law, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
> Download: PowerPoint presentation 58KB
> Download: Paper, Word document 186KB
> Download: Power Word document 40KBFacilitating or hindering trade: the role of rules of origin in RTAs
Antoni Estevadeordal, Senior Trade Economist, Integration and Regional Programs Department, Inter-American Development Bank, USA
> Download: PowerPoint presentation 265KB
> Download: Paper, pdf document 1605KBStandards, technical regulations and SPS provisions in RTAs
Sungjoon Cho, Assistant Professor, Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology, USA
> Download: PowerPoint presentation 96KBSafeguards in RTAs
Joost Pauwelyn, Associate Professor of Law, Duke Law School, USA
> Download: PowerPoint presentation 93KB
> Download: Paper, Word document 25KBTrade and competition policy: anti-dumping and anti-trust policies in RTAs
Ian Wooton, Professor of Economics, University of Strathclyde, UK
> Download: PowerPoint presentation 943KB
16:15-17:45
Session 5: Extending RTAs beyond goods trade:
trade in services, investment agreements and intellectual propertyBack to top
The characteristics and economic effects of RTAs in trade in services, of provisions on intellectual property and of the growing number of investment agreements being concluded both within and outside RTA frameworks are ill known. Are interlinkages and layers adding to an ever more complex global trading system?
Economic integration in trade in services
Carsten Fink, Economist, Development Research Group, The World Bank
> Download: PowerPoint presentation 173KB
> Download: Paper, pdf document 201KBInvestment provisions in RTAs
William A. Dymond, Executive Director, Centre for Trade Policy and Law, Carleton University, Canada
> Download: PowerPoint presentation 36KBIntellectual Property provisions in RTAs and TRIPS
David Vivas-Eugui, Programme Manager of Intellectual Property, Technology and Services, International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development
> Download: PowerPoint presentation 234KB
> Download: Paper, pdf document 327KB
17:45-18:00
Wrap-up session and Concluding Remarks
Clem Boonekamp, Director, Trade Policies Review Division, WTO