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A law?
Based on the WTO Regulation
A group of people?
Members of the WTO agreed
A meeting?
The WTO meeting was held in
History
After World War II many nations had adopted a protectionist stance on trade Many felt closed-protectionist positions was a cause of WWII Victor nations set up economic institutions to prevent this from happening again
History
Bretton Woods System of 1946 International Monetary Fund (IMF) World Bank International Trade Organization (ITO) The General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) was signed into place in 1947 The ITO did not fly The US said it was unfair GATT took the place of the ITO
History
History - GATT
Trade Rounds negotiation meetings
First 6 rounds reduced tariffs from ~50% to ~12% 7th, the Tokyo Round of the early 70s was first major effort at trade reform
Mainly about non-tariff barriers to trade, such as:
Subsidies Quotas Foreign exchange controls Import bans Restrictive licensing
History GATT
The 1986 Uruguay Rounds of trade negotiations covered new trade topics
Trade in services and intellectual property Sensitive subjects, like textiles and agriculture
History WTO
Uruguay Round ended in 1994 with the formation of the World Trade Organization
Jan. 1, 1995 WTO was born
GATT, GATS and TRIPS still exist as the framework for the WTOs operations
History
Current Round Doha
Began November 2001
Ambitious agenda to make globalization more inclusive of the worlds poor Talks have been contentious
No agreements have been reached July 2006 talks were suspended by Director General, Pacel Lamy, but may go forward at anytime
5.
These councils are charged with overseeing the functioning of their various trade agreements
These are sub-councils under the three councils for trade Examples include:
Textiles Monitoring Body, under the GATT Council Information Technology Agreement Committee, under the TRIPS Council The Services Council, under the GATS Council
Dispute Settlement
- A Unique Contribution
It is the central pillar of the multilateral trading system It is a unique contribution to the stability of the global economy It makes the trading system more secure and predictable
Case of Venezuela
On 23 January 1995, Venezuela complained to the Dispute Settlement Body that the United States was applying rules that discriminated against gasoline imports, and formally requested consultations with the United States. Just over a year later the dispute panel completed its final report. The United States appealed. The Appellate Body completed its report, and the Dispute Settlement Body adopted the report on 20 May 1996, one year and four months after the complaint was first lodged. The United States agreed with Venezuela that it would amend its regulations within 15 months and on 26 August 1997 it reported to the Dispute Settlement Body that a new regulation had been signed on 19 August.
"The Chinese government is extremely dissatisfied about this, but we will proactively respond according to the related WTO rules and see it through to the end, Wu added.
Source: www.reuters.com
PATENTS
Subject matter any invention, whether of products or processes, in all fields of technology, provided they are new, non-obvious and useful. Exceptions to subject matter (1)Medical Use (2) Plants and animals other than micro-organisms (but not plant varieties). (3) Essentially biological processes for the production of plants and animals. Rights conferred Patents give owners exclusive property rights Assignment allowed. (Compulsory Licensing allowed subject to conditions) Term of protection Twenty years counted from filing date.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS
Subject matter - Indications which identify a good as originating in the territory of a Member, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or any other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin Rights conferred prevention of the use of any means which mislead the public or an act of unfair competition. Additional protection for wines and spirits Prohibition on use even where the true origin of the goods is indicated or the GI is used in translation or accompanied by expressions such as land, type, style, initiation or the like
DIFFICULTIES IN COMPLIANCE
The most important concerns related to patents and plant variety protection. It was felt that - our pharmaceutical industry will be adversely affected, - drug prices will go up, - our biological materials will be pirated, - our farmers will no longer be
DIFFICULTIES IN COMPLIANCE
The Government has taken account of all these fears in the proposed Bills on the subjects. Some of the preventive measures in the Bills are - Farmers right to save, exchange and use farm saved seeds has been preserved - Wide range of inventions that are not patentable have been kept (Section 3) - Strong Government use, R&D, revocation provisions have been introduced ( Chapter XVII and Sections 47, 66) - Strong compulsory licensing provisions have been retained (Chapter XVI) - Vast powers retained for the Security of
Facts
1. Not all countries are members of the WTO 2. Members of WTO are allowed to maintain quotas for a specified period of time.
Transition period Some countries implement quotas defying WTO rules.
They may require firms to produce two different goods or packages to allow exports. Some goods must meet technical standards like cars from the U.S. to the Ireland.
Pollution intensive industry feels disadvantaged in countries with high pollution regulations. Little of no empirical evidence of effects WTO ruled countries cannot impose standards by limiting imports.
India Seeks
Protecting our food and livelihood security by having sufficient flexibility for domestic policy measures. Protecting domestic producers from the surge in imports or significant decline in import prices. Substantial reduction in export subsidies and domestic support to agriculture in the developed countries for greater market access to products of developing countries. Finally, a more equitable & fair trading framework for agricultural commodities