Time to Renew the WTO
One could liken the World Trade Organization (WTO) reform process to the Japanese ritual of hanami (flower viewing), where everyone takes pause to appreciate the gift of the sakura cherry blossoms as a community. The current global trading system has generated opportunities for every member to pursue growth and prosperity through increased trade. We've come to rely on it and rarely stop to appreciate it. Members are now looking to renew the purpose and functioning of the WTO in at least three areas.
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Have Trade “Preference” Programs Kept Up with the Times?
The concept of creating a generalized, non-reciprocal system of preferences for developing countries dates back to 1968. But enabling legitimate forms of discrimination has predictably had positive and negative consequences and there’s little economic data to demonstrate the programs have accrued significant benefits.
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Four Ways Trade is Like March Madness
Trade policy is at a historical crossroads — a jump ball, as it were. As we enjoy the NCAA Tournament, let's look at four similarities between trade and college basketball.
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Energy Trade and GATT Rules: Is Something Missing?
Trade in hydrocarbons, fissionable materials and cross-border transmission of electricity largely take place outside the multilateral trading system. Two key developments may now lead to convergence between the energy business and the rules of the WTO.
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Export Controls and the Art of Modern Defense
Export controls are not a new idea. They date back to at least the 14th century when the English tried to keep longbow technology out of the hands of the French during the Hundred Years War. Today, we face a very different world with multiple adversaries, including non-state actors, and no strong consensus on how or when to act.
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Sorting Product Origin to Secure the Benefits of Trade Agreements
Trade agreements offer a variety of benefits, most notably tariff cuts – but only to goods that qualify. Rules of origin serve that gatekeeper function, aiming to ensure that the benefits of trade agreements go to the goods of the parties.
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Substantial Transformation: What are You and Where Did You Come From?
Most products today are the result of creative, physical, and intellectual efforts by people in different roles across the globe—they are designed in one country, their materials are procured in another, their components may be made and assembled somewhere else. Their “Made in…” labels only tell us the country where that product last underwent some significant change or “substantial transformation”. That's just a snapshot of one stop on their journey
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What Issues Will the US and Canada Wrestle With in NAFTA Talks?
As NAFTA negotiations get underway, the United States and Canada face a challenging mix of issues. Some represent longstanding disputes between the two countries. Others may be new priorities for the Trump Administration and untested in trade agreements. Still others, like commitments to facilitate digital trade, both sides are ready to agree. Here's your cheat sheet.
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National Security Exception: When Trade Rules Don’t Apply
Since 1947, the global trade rules have contained a “national security exception." WTO members operate on the presumption that their fellow members will exercise the exception rarely and in good faith.
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How the WTO Settles Disputes
WTO members voluntarily agreed to rules to create a more secure and predictable trading environment for their traders. By and large, members comply with these rules so that others will as well. But when one member believes that another is not complying, the WTO has procedures for settling disputes.
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