Academic literature on the topic 'General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Organization) – European Union countries'

The present study investigates the history of the General System of Preferences within the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and World Trade Organization (WTO) systems with a particular view to define how developed and developing countries adapted their market policies to the demands of the multilateral trading system (MTS). It analyses the role of the most-favoured-nation (MFN) clause and its consequences to developing countries’ interests, within its parameters of differential market access. The study tries to explain the treatment of preferences in an objective light, presenting two current case studies: the formulation of the American GSP scheme and the dispute of India and the European Union in the WTO about the European Union’s GSP scheme. In addition to this, the study focuses on the conflict among developing countries on the issue of special and differential treatment. This focus will lead to a renewed reading of the history of MTS that takes into consideration the frailty of developing countries’ unity and that tries to understand why and to what extent this unity shattered along the way.

In September 2000, a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel published its findings in the dispute between Canada and the European Union/France over France's ban on the import and use of chrysotile (white asbestos). The panel upheld the French ban, established that the use of chrysotile is a health risk and the idea of “controlled use” a fallacy, and used (for the first time) an exception clause in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade that permits trade-restrictive measures to protect human life or health. At the same time, the panel concluded that the French ban violated international trade laws by treating chrysotile products less favorably than domestically produced alternatives. Some WTO watchers believe that with asbestos as the precedent for bans on toxic substances, the regulation of other, much less well-established, toxic exposures could prove much more difficult. Now the French ban has been upheld, chrysotile producers will increasingly target developing countries. Canada is appealing the WTO decision.

Purpose The present study is an attempt to evaluate the impact of the proposed India-China free trade agreement (FTA) in goods trade on both countries under a static general equilibrium framework. Design/Methodology/Approach The study has utilized the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model of world trade with the presence of skilled and unskilled unemployment in the world. For analysis purposes, 57 GTAP sectors, representing the whole regional economy, have been aggregated into 43 sectors and 140 GTAP regions, representing the whole world, have been aggregated into 19 regions. The study has also used the updated tariff rates provided by the World Trade Organization for better results. Findings The preliminary analysis using trade indicators depicted that by utilizing their own comparative advantage, both of the countries can maximize their gains by exporting more to the world. The simulation results from the GTAP analysis revealed that a tariff reduction in all goods trade would be more beneficial for both the countries than the tariff reduction in each other's specialized products. All other regions lose in terms of shifting the Indian imports towards China in a post-simulation environment. Regions with a significant loss are: the European Union (28 members), Southeast Asia, the Unites States, Japan, Korea, West Asia, and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Originality/Value The disaggregated sector-wise analysis has been performed using the latest available GTAP database, version 9.

This article assesses the European Commission’s 2016 Amended Proposal for ‘a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the access of third-country goods and services to the Union’s internal market in public procurement and procedures supporting negotiations on access of Union goods and services to the public procurement markets of third countries’.1 The proposed regulation aims to improve the conditions under which European Union (EU) businesses can compete for public contracts abroad. It provides the EU with leverage through imposing a price penalty on any tender for an EU procurement which is originating in a country that does not offer the EU ‘reciprocity’ in access to its procurement markets. After introducing the 2016 International Procurement Instrument (IPI) Amended Proposal, the article examines the legal framework of the Amended Proposal with reference to its evolution from the European Commission’s original 2012 proposed regulation. The analysis then turns to the concept of reciprocity, which serves as the justificatory basis of the Commission’s proposal before assessing the 2016 Amended Proposal’s compatibility with the EU’s commitments under the World Trade Organization (WTO), including most notably the World Trade Organization’s Government Procurement Agreement (WTO GPA), the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM). This assessment concludes by questioning the compatibility of this proposed regulation with the EU’s obligations under the WTO as well as the objectives of the EU procurement rules, underpinned by Treaty principles.

This paper examines and critiques the worldwide mushrooming of preferential trading arrangements and traces its implications for Pakistan. It points out that this development is fundamentally contrary to the principle of most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment, which was the cornerstone of the post-war multilateral trading system as embodied in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The causes of the rise in bilateral and regional trading arrangements are discussed and it is shown that they pose a real threat to many relatively small economies, including Pakistan. The paper discusses the various preferential trade agreements Pakistan has already signed. It notes that, with the exception of its trade agreement with China, Pakistan has not succeeded in concluding preferential trading arrangements with any of the strategically and systemically more important countries, viz., the US, European Union, and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) could potentially be of considerable importance for Pakistan’s long-term economic growth, but this potential might not be realized if India and Pakistan fail to overcome their mutual differences. Finally, the paper explores steps that might be taken to promote Pakistan’s economic interests in its bilateral relations.

The United Kingdom (‘UK’), as a Member State of the European Union (‘EU’), does not have its own schedule of concessions under the World Trade Organization (‘WTO’) – for now – because the EU, as a single customs union, has consolidated schedules for goods and services. The UK is currently negotiating its schedules with other WTO Members, but time is running short ahead of the UK’s scheduled exit from the EU on 31 October 2019 (‘Brexit Date’). If the UK fails to certify its schedules before the Brexit Date, the question becomes whether the UK could unilaterally establish its new schedules and conduct trade based on ‘uncertified’ schedules that have not been agreed by all WTO Members. The panel in EU – Poultry (China) found that certification of a schedule is not a legal prerequisite to implement agreed-upon changes in negotiations under Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (‘GATT’) at the national level. Based on the panel’s finding and Article XXVIII:3 of the GATT, under a no-deal Brexit scenario, the UK would be able to unilaterally establish its goods schedule, even in the absence of agreement with other Members. Further, the UK could enforce the new schedules before completing the certification process and, thus, trade under the uncertified goods schedule. However, three caveats must be noted: (1) the UK must certify its new goods schedule eventually; (2) unlike the goods schedule, the completion of certification is necessary for the UK to give effect to its new services schedule; and (3) if another Member brings a complaint concerning the UK’s uncertified schedules, and the dispute results in an appeal, the Appellate Body may reach a different conclusion when applying the panel’s decision in the context of Brexit. In short, the UK must certify its goods schedule as soon as it concludes Article XXVIII negotiations with other WTO Members. The Poultry panel’s decision does not support a way for frictionless trade between the UK and other countries under no-deal Brexit.

It is remarkable how many critiques of the approach of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to human rights include the phrase: ‘WTO should ?’. In many cases WTO actually ‘shouldn’t’ because even if it ‘would’ it ‘couldn’t’. With the exception of the Dispute Settlement Procedures (DSP) the WTO does not really have an independent institutional decision–making power. It is nevertheless true that this international forum of free trade has remained remarkably conservative regarding human rights even after the end of ‘the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) years’ and the establishing of the WTO. Many scholars accuse the WTO of organizational isolationism and advocate for overcoming this practice. Criticism focuses especially on the apparent non–responsiveness of the organization to human rights issues – despite the huge impact free trade has on such matters – and unwillingness to discuss human rights, or cooperate with international agencies that protect them. In present days, the International Bill of Rights is commonly recognized as a human rights standard. Human rights are mainstreamed in the EU body of law, as well as soft law documents such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and the UN Agenda for Development. Recently, they are incorporated in the organizational statues and programme methodologies of institutions such as the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The WTO seems to stay away from this process. We aim to explore the reasons for this conservative attitude of the WTO towards human rights, while trying to establish historical parallels with the gradual adoption of human rights as core standards in other international entities such as the European Union. We attempt to tackle the relationship between WTO membership and the human rights situation in its Member States and the possible implications that continuing admission of non–democratic countries – e.g., Russia – might have. We also explore the understanding of some scholars that human rights are ‘seeping into the WTO system’ – and briefly analyze some examples that could illustrate this process.

When the European Economic Community, the forerunner of the European Union was formed in 1958, it was agreed that the new integration would be a tariff union with common tariffs toward third countries, but also that it would have a common foreign trade policy. As the Union's executive body, the European Commission is responsible for proposing and implementing foreign trade policies. However, the main subject in creating foreign trade policies still remains the Council of Ministers as the EU's main decision-making and legislative body. The Commission negotiates trade agreements with outside countries on behalf of the Union. However, on foreign trade issues the Commission must report to a committee (the "133 Committee"), which assists the Commission in the course of the negotiations and before becoming valid all agreements must be ratified by the Council of Ministers. The Commission ensures that the European Parliament is kept quickly and fully informed at all stages of the negotiation and conclusion of international agreements, in such a way as to enable the Commission to take account of the European Parliament's view, but its role is purely consultative. The EU is trying to establish closer partnership relations with the USA through establishing transatlantic marketplace. However, as the EU is becoming a respectable economic power, an increasing number of trade disputes arise between the EU and the USA. The EU is trying to establish a closer relationship with the European countries since they are candidate countries for EU membership. However, some of them are closer to the membership than others. Therefore the agreements that the EU conclude with certain groups of countries differ among themselves. The EU has special relations with the countries in Africa the Caribbean and the Pacific, former European colonies, that have been granted a preferential treatment allowing preferential trade with the EU. Close relations have been established with countries and regional groups in Latin America as well. The EU has become a significant factor in international economic organizations. However, in order to become an economic power as respectable as the USA and Japan and to give strategic support to its companies in global competition, the EU must integrate politically as well.

International economic integrations, especially after the end of World War II, result from the long-term goals of establishing political unity based on countries' orientation towards their common economic interests. Customs unions, in which states abolish tariffs among themselves and apply common tariffs to third countries, are the next advanced stage of international integration after free trade zones. While customs unions eliminate tariffs and related taxes in trade within their jurisdiction, they also establish a common external tariff. This entails some asymmetrical disadvantages for the countries within the Union. A new step by Türkiye in its efforts to integrate with the West was its application to join the EEC in 1959. The Customs Union, defined by the Ankara Agreement signed in 1963, came into effect in 1996 as a result of the agreement made at the meeting of the Association Council of 6 March 1995 adopted "Customs Union Decision". The aim of this study is to examine the bilateral trade impact of the Customs Union between Türkiye and the EU. H1: Which fields should be included in the customs union between Türkiye and the EU? H2: How will the inclusion of trade in digital goods and services in the Customs Union affect EU-Türkiye trade? The results from the analysis covering the years of 1996-2021 showed that the Customs Union has had a positive but limited effect for the trade between EU-Türkiye. The customs union needs to be updated taking into account public procurement, agriculture and digital services.

This article analyzes the politics of supranational dispute resolution, focusing on trade-environment disputes in the context of the European Union (EU) and General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organization (GATT/WTO). The author analyzes how the interaction of political and legal pressures has influenced decision making by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and by GATT/WTO panels in trade-environment disputes.

This aim of this thesis will be to first address the issue of the direct applicability of the GATT within the national framework, mainly through the use of an analysis of the considerations that such a denial of the direct effect of the GATT is based upon, to understand if there are real obstacles to its implementation, before examining the harmful effects this of denial. The analysis will focus on the situation in both the European Union and the United States, these two countries being two of the most important trade partners in the WTO, before suggesting various solutions that could be adopted to implement the direct effect of the GATT in order to benefit both individuals and the WTO members.
However, since WTO members are still highly opposed to the recognition of the direct effect of the GATT, the unlikelihood of its implementation, at least in a short term perspective, will lead to an analysis of the situation directly at the WTO level. This will permit us to further conclude, whether it would be possible to find solutions to palliate the problems arising out of the denial of the direct effect of the GATT at a national level. Indeed, in the last part of the analysis undertaken in this work, various ways to remedy the deficit of democracy will be explored, examining alternatively the best vectors that could be used: individuals or NGOs, in order to enhance the legitimacy of the WTO which is principally under attack.

Thesis (LLM)--University of Stellenbosch, 1999.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis deals with the Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA) between the European Union and the Republic of South Africa, which was concluded in October 1999. In particular, the agreement is analysed in the light of the negotiating process between the parties, the contents of the agreement, the applicability of WTO law and the compatibility of the agreement with it and the Port and Sherry Agreement. Since the EU emphasised its aim to commence economic and development cooperation with other African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries on a reciprocal basis during the negotiations for a successor of the Lomé Convention, the TDCA between the EU and South Africa had to be seen as a "pilot project" for future cooperation agreements between countries at different levels of development. The TDCA between the EU and South Africa is therefore not only very important for the two concerned parties, but could serve as an example for further negotiations between the EU and other ACP countries. Thus the purpose of this thesis is to examine the TDCA between the EU and South Africa from a wider global perspective. The thesis is divided into six Chapters: The first Chapter provides an introduction to the circumstances under which the negotiations between the EU and South Africa commenced. It deals briefly with the economic situation in South Africa during the apartheid era and presents reasons why the parties wanted to enter into bilateral negotiations. The introductory part furthermore presents an overview of the contents of the thesis. The second chapter contains a detailed description of the negotiating process that took place between the parties and shows why it took 43 months and 21 rounds of negotiations to reach a deal. South Africa's partial accession to the Lomé Convention and the conclusion of separate agreements such as the Wine and Spirits Agreement, are also analysed. Chapter three presents the various components of the TOCA and illustrates what the negotiators achieved. This chapter on the TOCA concludes with an evaluation of the Agreement and shows the potential benefits to South Africa and the EU. Since the Agreement had to satisfy international rules, the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and TradelWorld Trade Organisation (GATTIWTO) were of major importance. The EC Treaty, however, does not contain any provision that indicates whether, or how, an international agreement like the GATTIWTO penetrates the Community legal order. In Chapter four, accordingly, questions are raised regarding the extent to which the bilateral agreement between South Africa and the EU was influenced by the GATTIWTO provisions and how these rules were incorporated into the agreement. Furthermore, since the parties agreed on the establishment of a free trade area, this chapter deals with the question of in how far the TOCA is in line with Article XXIV GATT. In addition to the GATT provisions, the TOCA is also affected by the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). Therefore Chapter five deals with TRIPs in connection with the TOCA. The use of the terms "Port" and "Sherry" as the major stumbling block to the conclusion of the TOCA is analysed more closely. The final part, namely Chapter six, provides a summary of the results of the investigation. Furthermore, a conclusion is provided with regard to the question of whether the TOeA can be seen as an example for further trade relations between the EU and other ACP countries.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis is gerig op die Handels-, Ontwikkelings- en Samewerkingsooreenkoms (TDGA) tussen die Europese Unie (EU) en die Republiek van Suid Afrika wat in Oktober 1999 gesluit is. Die ooreenkoms word veral in die lig van die onderhandelingsproses tussen die partye, die inhoud van die ooreenkoms, die toepaslikheid van Wêreldhandelsorganisasiereg en die versoenbaarheid daarvan met die ooreenkoms en die Port en Sjerrie-ooreenkoms ontleed. Aangesien die EU sy oogmerk van wederkerige ekonomiese en ontwikkelings-gerigte samewerking met ander lande in Afrika en die Karibiese en Stille Oseaan-Eilande gedurende die onderhandelings vir 'n opvolger van die Lomé Konvensie beklemtoon het, moes die ooreenkoms tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika as 'n "loodsprojek" vir toekomstige samewerkingsooreenkomste tussen lande wat op verskillende vlakke van onwikkeling is, gesien word. Die Handels-, Ontwikkelings- en Samewerkingsooreenkoms tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika is dus nie net baie belangrik vir die betrokke partye nie, maar dit kan ook as 'n voorbeeld vir verdere onderhandelings tussen die EU en lande van Afrika en die Karibiese- en Stille Oseaan-Eilande dien. Die doel van dié tesis is om die Handels-, Ontwikkelings- en Samewekingsooreenkoms tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika vanuit 'n meer globale perspektief te beskou. Die tesis is in ses Hoofstukke ingedeel: Die eerste hoofstuk bied 'n inleiding tot die omstandighede waaronder die onderhandelings tussen die EU en Suid-Afrika begin het. Dit behandel die Suid- Afrikaanse ekonomiese situasie onder apartheid kortliks en toon hoekom die partye tweesydige onderhandelings wou aanknoop. Verder bied die inleidende deel 'n oorsig oor die inhoud van die tesis. Die tweede hoofstuk bevat 'n gedetailleerde beskrywing van die onderhandelingsproses wat tussen die partye plaasgevind het en toon aan waarom dit drie-en-veertig maande geduur het en een-en-twintig onderhandelingsrondtes gekos het om die saak te beklink. Suid-Afrika se gedeeltelike toetrede tot die Lomé Konvensie en die sluit van aparte ooreenkomste soos die Port- en Sjerrieooreenkoms word ook ontleed. Die daaropvolgende hoofstuk bespreek die verskillende komponente van die Handels-, Ontwikkelings- en Samewerkingsooreenkoms en toon wat die onderhandelaars bereik het. Hierdie hoofstuk oor die Ooreenkoms sluit af met 'n evaluering daarvan en dui die potensiële voordele van die Ooreenkoms vir Suid- Afrika en die EU aan. Aangesien die Ooreenkoms internasionale reëls moes tevrede stel, was die voorskrifte van die Algemene Ooreenkoms oor Tariewe en Handel (GATT) van uiterste belang. Die EG-verdrag bevat egter geen voorskrif wat aandui óf, of hoé, 'n internasionale ooreenkoms soos GATTNVTO die regsorde van die Europese Gemeenskap binnedring nie. Die vraag oor in hoeverre die tweesydige ooreenkoms tussen Suid-Afrika en die EU deur die GATTIWTO voorskrifte beïnvloed is, en oor hoe hierdie reëls in die ooreenkoms opgeneem is, word dus in Hoofstuk vier aangeraak. Aangesien die partye ooreengekom het om 'n vrye handeisarea tot stand te bring, behandel hierdie hoofstuk ook die vraag oor in hoeverre die TOGA met Artikel XXIV GATT strook. Tesame met die GATT-voorskrifte word die TOGA ook deur die Ooreenkoms ten opsigte van Handelsverwante Aspekte van Intellektuele Eiendomsreg (TRIPs) geraak. Hoofstuk vyf behandel daarom hierdie aspek ten opsigte van die TOGA. Die gebruik van die terme "Port" en "Sjerrie" as die vernaamste struikelblok tot die sluiting van die TOG-ooreenkoms word ook deegliker ontleed. Die laaste gedeelte, naamlik Hoofstuk ses, bied 'n opsomming van die resultate van die ondersoek. Verder word 'n gevolgtrekking voorsien ten opsigte van vraag of die TOGA as 'n voorbeeld vir verdere handelsverwantskappe tussen die EU en ander lande in Afrika en die Karibiese en Stille Oseaan-eilande beskou kan word.

The Central African Monetary and Economic Community, known by its French acronym CEMAC (Communauté
Economique et Moné
taire de l&rsquo
Afrique Centrale), is one of the oldest regional economic blocs in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states. Its membership comprises of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. It has a population of over 32 million inhabitants in a three million (3 million) square kilometre expanse of land. The changes in the world economy, and especially between the ACP countries, on the one hand, and the European Economic Community-EEC (hereinafter referred to as European Union (EU)), on the other hand, did not leave the CEMAC region unaffected. CEMAC region, like any other regional economic blocs in Africa was faced with the need to readjust in the face of a New International Economic Order (NIEO). The region which had benefited from preferential access to the EU market including financial assistance through the European Development Fund (EDF) had to comply with the rules laid down in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This eventually led to a shift in the EU trade policy, in order to ensure that its trade preferences to developing countries were compatible to the rules and obligations of the WTO.

Defence date: 27 May 2002
Examining Board: Daniel Verdier (Supervisor; European University Institute, San Domenico di Fiesole) Adrienne Héritier (Co-supervisor; Max-Planck Gesellschaft, Bonn) Petros Mavroidis (Université de Neuchâtel) Patrick Messerlin (Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Paris)
First made available online in June 2012.
In this PhD dissertation I explain how different forms of international trade institutions affect domestic coalition patterns. Negotiated trade policy instruments create incentives for sector-wide interest representation, while administrative instruments elicit interest aggregation on a more product-specific, intra-sectoral level. I provide a rationale why reciprocal trade negotiations foster sector-wide associations, whereas trade rule enforcement elicits intra-sectoral coalitions. In contrast to existing explanations, these propositions can account for coalition patterns during both the GATT 1947, which consisted of a series of trade negotiation rounds, and the WTO (1995-), which combines negotiations with binding administrative enforcement in the form of international dispute settlement. Comprehensive evidence from EU trade policy lobbying confirms the explanatory force of the hypotheses. Sectoral peak associations co-ordinate interest representation during the GATT and WTO Rounds, whereas private interests predominantly organise on an intra-sectoral level when filing petitions for enforcement instruments administered by the European Commission. Exhaustive databases provide evidence about the predominantly intra-sectoral trade associations that lodge complaints with administrative instruments such as Anti-Dumping, market access investigations and WTO dispute settlement, while other sources reveal how sector-wide peak associations organise during negotiation Rounds. I provide supportive evidence from existing research on interest representation in American trade policy, and control for other factors such as industry concentration and non-trade regulation. The shift from negotiations-only to enforcement is further significant for interest representation in four selected sectors of European industry: chemicals, pharmaceuticals, steel and textiles. Although each of these industries has a long history of sector coherence, they all reorganised their membership and representation structure to accommodate for the increased importance of enforcement instruments. The adoption of direct company membership and/or the inclusion of product-specific trade associations accompany the decrease in importance of the sectorwide peak association in a world where the provision of detailed information for judicial enforcement is starting to weigh more than the political clout of sector-wide peak associations during negotiations.

Defence date: 7 March 1997
Examining board: Prof. Richard T. Griffiths, Rijksuniversiteit Leiden (supervisor) ; Prof. Alan S. Milward, EUI ; Prof. Jaime Reis, EUI ; Prof. Federico Romero, Università di Bologna ; Prof. Klaus Schwabe, RWTH Aachen
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digitised archive of EUI PhD theses completed between 2013 and 2017

Regionalism and the Multilateral Trading System: The Role of Regional Trade Agreements is a discussion about the new reality and the evolution of the reduction of international barriers to freer trade under the World Trade Organization (WTO) formerly the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT). The chapter devotes time to the two largest regional trade agreements (RTAs), the European Union (EU) with 28 countries and North American Trading Agreement (NAFTA) with three countries account for half of all world trade (WTO, 2017a). The US set a course post World War II as the proponent of globalization and freer trade. RTAs at that time were failing or inconsequential. In response to the EU trading block, the US committed to a (Free Trade Area) FTA with Canada and subsequently the NAFTA with Canada and Mexico the rest of the world began to become concerned about being shut out of a preferential trade deal. The main theme of the chapter is that trade liberalization is moving forward because of Regional Trading agreements, not the WTO which is stalled and may never restart in its current form.

This chapter addresses the relationship between the European Union and international law. Article 218 TFEU lays down the procedure by which the Union concludes agreements with third countries or international organizations. Agreements concluded by the Union are binding on the Union institutions and on Member States (Article 216(2) TFEU). The provisions of such agreements form an integral part of the Union legal order from the moment they enter into force. This is in accordance with the 'monist' approach: agreements concluded by the Union form part of the Union legal order without there being any necessity to transpose them into internal provisions of Union law. Exceptionally, agreements not concluded by the Union but by the Member States also have binding force. This is so when the Union has assumed, under the Treaties, the competence previously exercised by the Member State in the field to which the agreement applies. This was the case with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). An agreement concluded by the Member States is also binding on the Union when the Treaties provide that the Union must exercise its competence in accordance therewith. Examples are provided by the Geneva Convention and the Protocol relating to the status of refugees and other relevant treaties, which are binding on the Union in the matter of asylum policy (Article 78(1) TFEU).

Abstract The chapter describes the rules in force of international law concerning sanctions, trade war, and economic warfare as practised until 1945. It deals with the UN Charter, the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions, the San Remo Manual on the Law for Armed Conflict at Sea, the judgement by the International Court of Justice with regard to US measures against Nicaragua, and the rules of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). It explains the principles of most-favoured-nation and of national treatment and examines the state of the law regarding trade restrictions for reasons of national security. It describes the WTO procedures for settling trade disputes and reports the criticism of WTO practice and the cause for WTO reform. It highlights the positions of the United States and the European Union regarding reform and regarding Chinese behaviour that may violate the letter or the spirit of the WTO regime.

The chapter covers ranges and effects of globalization on economies in transition, as well as possibilities and limits in raising their competitiveness. International business has increased its size in the 20th century, mostly owing to trade liberalization and investments and partly owing to a fact that doing the international businesses has generally become easier and simpler. With regard to liberalization, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade has led to trade liberalization, and it was continued with establishment of the World Trade Organization in 1995. At the same time, capital mobility was liberalized by most of the countries, especially with development of electronic money transfer. Besides, by introduction of a new European monetary unit – euro, in January 2002 has been exerted influence to international business. With regard to international business, two main forces are important: technological progress, which made global communications and transport relatively fast and comfortable, and economies in transition, which brought about opening new markets.

This introductory chapter provides a background of the Energy Charter Treaty, which entered into force on April 16, 1998. The ECT is a unique international instrument which covers the promotion and protection of investments, trade in energy, transit in the energy sector, environmental aspects, as well as the settlement of disputes under the Treaty. It was negotiated and drafted under considerable time pressure by a large number of States and what is now the European Union. Nevertheless, the ECT was not negotiated and drafted in a legal vacuum. Other relevant international instruments were there for the negotiators to take account of and to be guided by as they deemed appropriate. As far as investment protection is concerned, there were in place several thousands of bilateral investment protection treaties (BITs) providing for the protection of foreign investment in a manner very similar to the corresponding provisions which eventually found their way into the ECT. With respect to international trade, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was in force when the ECT negotiations commenced. It was eventually replaced by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995. The present legal commentary on the ECT will not discuss general aspects of these two fields—international investment law and international trade law—in detail. Rather, an attempt has been made to limit the discussion of such general aspects—and of arbitral awards relating thereto—which are relevant for the ECT-provisions in question.