International trade law

Subject: International Trade Law

Group Assessment

1st Part: 10 points

1. What are the functions of the WTO? What was the latest multilateral agreement signed by WTO member states? Discuss its objectives.

According to World Trade Organization:

 ^[1]“The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments.”

Objective: 

help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business; ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible; by lowering trade barriers, the WTO’s system also breaks down other barriers between peoples and nations.

Functions of WTO:

1. Implement rules and provisions related to trade policy review mechanism.

2. Provide a platform to member countries to decide future strategies related to trade and tariff.

3. Provide facilities for implementation, administration and operation of multilateral and bilateral agreements of the world trade.

4. Administer the rules and processes related to dispute settlement.

5. Ensure the optimum use of world resources.

6. Assist international organizations such as, IMF and IBRD for establishing coherence in Universal Economic Policy determination.

Latest multilateral agreement signed by WTO member states? Discuss its objectives:

In December 2013, the biggest agreement within the WTO was signed and known as the Bali Package. The Bali Package is a trade agreement resulting from the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Bali, Indonesia on 3–7 December 2013.

The accord includes provisions for lowering import tariffs and agricultural subsidies, with the intention of making it easier for developing countries to trade with the developed world in global markets. Developed countries would abolish hard import quotas on agricultural products from the developing world and instead would only be allowed to charge tariffs on amounts of agricultural imports exceeding specific limits. Another important target is reforming customs bureaucracies and formalities to facilitate trade.

1. What are the latest news about the Brexit negotiations? What are the issues at stake in these Brexit negotiations?

According to Independent Co.Uk,^[2] EU leaders agree to move to next phase of negotiations

The leaders of the European Union’s 27 other member states have formally agreed to move to the next phase of Brexit talks – though full talks are not expected to begin until March. Leaders want the UK to adopt all new EU laws created during the transition period, but that the country will “no longer participate in or nominate or elect members of the EU institutions, nor participate in the decision-making of the Union bodies, offices and agencies”. The red line potentially sets the stage for the next round of clashes, because the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson of UK has said in certain terms he will not accept new EU laws.

1. Explain the various methods to resolve commercial cross border disputes. Discuss the pros and cons of each method.

When it comes to resolve disputes between nations and parties or between parties doing business in different countries, the process can be highly complex. It’s important to take into consideration the legal procedures of each country differ, and of course international laws.

Dispute resolution processes are shared into two major types:

1. Adjudicative processes, such as litigation or arbitration, in which an arbitrator (judge or jury) determines the outcome.
2.  Consensual processes (finding the common sense) - collaborative law, mediation, conciliation, or negotiation, in which the parties attempt to reach an agreement.

Negotiation is the most basic means of settling differences. It is back-and-forth communication between the parties of the conflict with the goal of trying to find a solution. A person can negotiate directly with another person. Also, she can hire an attorney to negotiate directly with the other side on her behalf. Negotiation is the first method of choice for problem-solving and trying to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.

Advantages

1. Opting for negotiation instead of litigation may be less expensive for the parties and may reduce delays.
2. Negotiation is a voluntary process. No one is required to participate in negotiations should they not wish to do so.
3. Negotiation is probably the most flexible form of dispute resolution as it involves only those parties with an interest in the matter and their representatives, if any.
4. Negotiation cannot guarantee that a party will be successful but negotiations have a greater possibility of a successful outcome when the parties adopt an interest-based approach as opposed to a positional-based approach. It can be a “win-win” situation

Disadvantages

1. The negotiation process cannot guarantee the good faith or trustworthiness of any of the parties.
2. Negotiation may be used as a stalling tactic to prevent another party from asserting its rights (e.g., through litigation or arbitration).
3. Some issues or questions are simply not amenable to negotiation (ideologies or beliefs).
4. The absence of a neutral third party can result in parties being unable to reach agreement.

If the negotiation proves unsuccessful, mediation often is the next step. This is a voluntary process in which an impartial person (the mediator) helps with communication and promotes reconciliation between the parties which will allow them to reach a mutually acceptable agreement. People are using mediation when they are unable to negotiate their dispute by themselves. In this situation, they may seek the assistance of a mediator who can help them to explore many ways of resolving the problem/arguments.

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