scholarly journals Importance and Motives of Preferential Trade Agreements in the EU's External Trade

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (20) (3) ◽  
pp. 3-22
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Kawecka-Wyrzykowska
Keyword(s):  
Public Procurement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade Agreements ◽  
External Trade ◽  
Foreign Markets ◽  
Preferential Trade ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Tariff Rates ◽  
Regulatory Barriers ◽  
The Eu

As a result of previous multilateral negotiations tariff rates are generally low and cannot explain the reasons for recent proliferation of preferential trade agreements (PTAs). The aim of the paper is to look for other motivations of EU PTAs and to assess their importance for the EU. The main research methods are statistical, review and assessment of WTO documents and critical analysis of literature. First, the present level of tariff protection on selected import markets was estimated. This level illustrates the scale of countries’ interest in their elimination of the existing tariffs. Also the share of preferential imports in the EU extra-trade was calculated and compared with trade on MFN basis. Next, reasons for PTAs were identified. The conclusions prove that 21st century PTAs are mainly motivated not by a reduction of tariffs but by the willingness to reduce the regulatory barriers (contained in rules on public procurement, environmental protection, etc.). The most dynamic trade nowadays involves flows of accessories and services. In this situation the importance of PTAs results from the fact that they serve as instruments eliminating national regulatory barriers faced by exporters of goods and resources on foreign markets. Thus PTAs support production and sales abroad. In the EU political motivations of PTAs are important as well.

Subsidies Regulation Beyond the WTO

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Borlini
Keyword(s):  
Trade Policy ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade ◽  
Bilateral Agreements ◽  
Negative Function ◽  
Public Aid ◽  
The Eu

An increasingly important aspect of EU trade policy since the lifting of its self-imposed moratorium on preferential trade agreements (PTAs) has been the inclusion of WTO+ provisions on subsidies in bilateral agreements negotiated with a number of third countries. This article covers the main bilateral PTAs negotiated after the publication of the Commission’s Communication on ‘Global Europe’ in order to explore the implications of the different subsidy disciplines they set out. It also discusses the questions that arise when examining the legal discipline of public aid provided by such agreements, regarding not only the substantive appropriateness of standards and rules on compatibility, but also the procedural mechanisms designed to guarantee the implementation and the enforcement of such rules. It concludes that the most advanced among the EU PTAs are shaped as competition regulation and go beyond a mere negative function, ensuring that subsidies can contribute to fundamental public goals.

Dial PTAs for Peace: The Influence of Preferential Trade Agreements on Litigation between Trading Partners

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petros C. Mavroidis ◽  
André Sapir
Keyword(s):  
Inverse Correlation ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade ◽  
Atlantic Trade ◽  
Policy Tool ◽  
The Us ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Trading Partners ◽  
The Eu

Preferential trade agreements (PTAs) are en vogue both as policy tool, as well as research subject. We do not beg to differ. In this paper, inspired by the in-going negotiations between the EU (European Union) and the US (United States) on the TTIP (Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership), we ask whether the conclusion of the agreement will, among other things, signal fewer disputes between the two partners before the WTO. This could happen either because there will be a forum diversion (litigate before the bilateral forum with the same or different intensity), or because differences of opinion will be addressed in extra-judicial manner. Our prediction is that, judging from past behaviour, e.g. the amount of litigation between the EU and the US with their preferential partners before and after they had signed an agreement with them, it is quite likely that they will litigate less against each other before the WTO. Without assigning causal relationship to the signature of a bilateral agreement and the amount of litigation between preferential partners, we show that there is inverse correlation between the two. It remains to be seen whether the WTO will profit or suffer from the likelihood of fewer disputes between the two largest trading partners.    

Untapping the potential of Preferential Trade Agreements to promote forest protection: A comparison on forest-related provisions and their enforcement in the US and EU PTAs

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 127-140
Author(s):  
Yilly Vanessa Pacheco
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade Agreements ◽  
Forest Governance ◽  
Environmental Agreements ◽  
Multilateral Environmental Agreements ◽  
Forest Protection ◽  
Preferential Trade ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Eu

The EU and the US are the actors with the highest number of environmental provisions in their Preferential Trade Agreements. Since 1999, specific rules on forest governance and Sustainable Forest Management have been incorporated in their PTAs. The implementation of such forest-related provisions in PTAs is mostly linked to cooperation among the Parties. However, in cases of noncompliance, PTAs provide for bilateral consultations, the application of the general dispute settlement mechanism, and even trade sanctions. The enforcement approaches differ in the US and the EU PTAs. This study focuses on the question of the potential of PTAs to contribute to forest governance and SFM and analyses the disputes that arose so far. It shows how forest issues may play a key role in negotiating and implementing PTAs, promoting compliance of Multilateral Environmental Agreements, and promoting public participation in environmental matters. The paper concludes that PTAs provide further options to develop and implement International Forest Law beyond the Multilateral Environmental Agreements.

scholarly journals Znacaj porekla proizvoda u evropskim sporazumima o trgovini

2003 ◽  
Vol 44 (157) ◽  
pp. 61-83
Author(s):  
Radovan Kovacevic
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Market Access ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade Agreements ◽  
Rules Of Origin ◽  
Preferential Trade ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Policy Objectives ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

The key element of the EU's free trade and preferential trade agreements is the extent to which they deliver improved market access and thus contribute to the EU's foreign policy objectives towards developing countries and neighbouring countries in Europe, including the countries of the Balkans. The previous preferential trade schemes have been ineffective in delivering improved access to the EU market. The main reason for this is probably very restrictive rules of origin that the EU imposes, coupled with the costs of proving consistency with these rules. If the EU wants the 'Everything but Arms' agreement and free trade agreements with countries in the Balkans to generate substantial improvements in access to the EU market for products from these countries, then it will have to reconsider the current rules of origin and implement less restrictive rules backed upon by a careful safeguards policy. Governments apply rules to distinguish between foreign and domestic products and to define the foreign origin of a product where some imports receive preferential treatment. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the issue of the rules of origin, and on the "cummulation" of such rules within the EU preferential trade agreements. It does this, firstly, through detailing rules of origin, secondly, by providing a conceptual discussion of the impact of (the cummulation of) rules of origin, and thirdly, by exploring characteristics of preferential trade agreements.

scholarly journals Recent Preferential Trade Agreements’ Disciplines for Tackling Regulatory Divergence in Services: How Far beyond GATS?

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Gari
Keyword(s):  
Market Integration ◽  
Market Access ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade Agreements ◽  
Preferential Trade ◽  
Regulatory Cooperation ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Implementation Costs ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThe paper reviews the disciplines for tackling regulatory divergence in services included in 23 PTAs entered into by China, the EU, Japan, and the USA. It identifies a remarkable expansion in the number and extent of disciplines on regulatory transparency, regulatory coherence, and regulatory cooperation compared with GATS, which, subject to adequate implementation, will allow these agreements to deliver a degree of market integration well beyond what could be achieved simply by removing market access restrictions and discriminatory measures from the rule book. However, the paper calls for some restraint when estimating the potential impact of these disciplines, mainly because of the soft language used for phrasing some of them and the anticipated high implementation costs, particularly for countries with unsophisticated domestic legal systems.

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