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The United States negotiated the Uruguay Rounds and adopted the GATT/WTO agreements under

"fasttrack"trade promotion authority. The agreements are not treaties, but were enacted into U.S. law through the"congressional-executive"process

The WTO is not a United Nations agency, but cooperates with the UN as well as the IMF and World Bank. The functions of the WTO are

(1) to facilitate international cooperation on trade issues, (2) to administer the GATT/WTO agreements, (3) to provide a forum for future trade negotiations, (4) to monitor national trade policies, (5) to assist developing countries in complying with GATT/WTO agreements by giving technical assistance, and (6) to provide a forum for the settlement of trade disputes.

Embargo

A governmental restriction on trade for political purposes.

DSB has power to

Authorize trade sanction and tariff in reaction to a tariff

Banana trade wars (read them over)

Basically American countries compamig about euro unions favoring former British by putting tariffs on latin American countries

We can summarize the basic principles of WTO trade law found in the major GATT/WTO agreements, as follows 7:

Consultations and dispute resolution: An agreement to resort to the WTO consultation and dispute settlement process and to not engage in unilateral retaliation against countries that violate WTO rules.

DSB is

Dispute Settlement Body

We can summarize the basic principles of WTO trade law found in the major GATT/WTO agreements, as follows 6:

Elimination of quotas and tarrification and other non-tariff barriers: Nations must first"convert" their non-tariff barriers to tariffs (through a process called tariffication) and then engage in negotiations to reduce the tariff rates.

At international meetings held in 1947, a multilateral trade agreement was reached between 23 nations. Called the _____________________it reflected a more international view of the world's economic and trading system than had existed, and would become the most important trade agreement of the twentieth century.

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1947),

We can summarize the basic principles of WTO trade law found in the major GATT/WTO agreements, as follows 1:

Multilateral trade negotiations: Nations commit to meet periodically to reduce tariffs and nontariff barriers to trade.

We can summarize the basic principles of WTO trade law found in the major GATT/WTO agreements, as follows 5:

National treatment: Members will not discriminate in favor of domestically produced goods and against imported goods or treat the two differently under their internal tax laws, regulations, and other national laws.

We can summarize the basic principles of WTO trade law found in the major GATT/WTO agreements, as follows 4:

Nondiscrimination and unconditional mostfavored-nation trade: Members will not give any import advantage or favor to products coming from one member over the goods of another member.

We can summarize the basic principles of WTO trade law found in the major GATT/WTO agreements, as follows 3:

Reciprocal tariff reductions and bound commitments. Nations commit to maximum bound tariff rates on specific products and to make those rates publicly available in their tariff schedules.

What countries have permanent most favored nation status?

Russia and China

GATT stands for

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

________________________is today the most important intergovernmental organization for world trade, with 159 member nations as of 2013. Two of the more controversial admissions to WTO membership were China (2001) and Russia (2012). It is headquartered in Geneva.

The WTO

GATT 1947 applied only to

Trade in goods. Even though the service sector had become the fastest growing sector of the world's economy, it was not subject to GATT rules.

We can summarize the basic principles of WTO trade law found in the major GATT/WTO agreements, as follows 2:

Transparency and predictability of trade opportunities: A nation's laws and regulations affecting trade in goods and services must be made publicly available so companies understand in advance the rules for doing business there.

WTO dispute-settlement procedures provide a legal forum for nations to resolve trade disputes. No single country can veto the decisions of a WTO panel. If a settlement is not reached, the

WTO Dispute Settlement Body may authorize countries whose rights have been nullified and impaired to impose retaliatory tariffs against another that has violated a GATT/WTO agreement.

Quota

a limited quantity of a particular product that under official controls can be produced, exported, or imported. "the country may be exceeding its OPEC quota of 1,100,000 barrels of oil per day

In addition, GATT 1947 failed to regulate

agricultural trade, an area of constant dispute among nations, especially between developed and developing countries.

WTO dispute settlement begins with the complaining country's formal request for"consultations," and if unresolved can proceed to

an investigation by a panel, a possible appeal to the Appellate Body, and consideration of their recommendations by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). If a subsidy is found, the DSB must recommend its removal or it may authorize the complaining country to take countermeasures, such as tariff increases in an amount needed to offset the subsidy. A WTO arbitration panel determines the amount of the countermeasures.

A nontariff barrier is broadly defined as

any impediment to trade other than a tariff.

Nations regulate trade for several important reasons, including

collection of revenue, regulation of import competition, retaliation against foreign trade barriers, implementation of foreign policy or national economic policy, national defense, protection of natural resources and the environment, protection of public health and safety, and protection of cultural values or artifacts.

The GATT/WTO agreements permit countries to form

free trade areas, customs unions, and common markets. Although the largest are in Europe and North America, important free trade areas and customs unions exist in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Direct non-tariff barriers specifically limit

imports of goods or services or deny access of foreign firms to local markets. Examples are embargoes, quotas, complex and discriminatory import licensing schemes, and other prohibitions on trade. Most direct non-tariff barriers are not permitted unless, as we will see later in the chapter, they fit into certain exceptions.

GATT outlaws most quantitative restrictions on

imports, such as quotas. Quotas on imported products are permitted only in certain situations, such as when a nation has insufficient foreign exchange to meet its foreign payments obligations.

The most important work of the Uruguay Round was

in devising solutions to the deficiencies of GATT 1947.The Uruguay Round ushered in a new era of international trade regulation. It replaced the original GATT organization with the World Trade Organization (WTO

Tariffication

is the process by which a country agrees to"convert"its quotas, import licenses, and other non-tariff barriers on specific items to tariffs. Reciprocal tariff concessions can then gradually reduce tariffs, while giving domestic producers time to adapt to new foreign competition.

Sanction

measures taken by a nation to coerce another to conform to an international agreement or norms of conduct, typically in the form of restrictions on trade .

GATT's major principles include a commitment to

multilateral trade negotiations, tariff bindings, transparency, non-discrimination, unconditional MFN trade, national treatment, and the elimination of quotas and other non-tariff barriers

An import licensing scheme is a form of

non-tariff barrier to trade that is often hidden in administrative regulations and bureaucratic red tape.

A trade agreement is a nation's commitment to

other nations to conform its national laws and regulations to the terms of that agreement.

Under the national treatment provisions of GATT Article III, imported products must not be

regulated, taxed, or otherwise treated differently from domestic goods once they enter a nation's stream of commerce.

Exporters faced with foreign licensing schemes often have to

retain local agents and attorneys to advise them on import measures in the foreign market.

The terms tariff and import duty are used interchangeably. Tariffs are a

tax levied on goods by the country of importation.

A tariff is a

tax levied on goods by the country of importation. It is usually computed either as a percentage of value (ad valorem tariffs) or on the basis of physical units (specific or flat tariffs). .

The year 1995 was one of the most important in the modern history of international trade law. It saw the birth of

the World Trade Organization and the conclusion of more than 60 multilateral trade agreements that provide the framework by which we regulate world trade today.

The most severe form of import restriction is

the embargo. Countries usually use it as a drastic measure for reasons of foreign policy or national security.

GATT includes

the original 1947 agreement, the 1994 agreement that founded the WTO, and many side agreements on specific trade issues. The original agreement only covered trade in goods.

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, or GATT, includes

the original 1947 agreement, the 1994 agreement that founded the WTO, and many side agreements on specific trade issues. The original agreement only covered trade in goods. In 1994, a General Agreement on Trade in Services was added.

Import regulations that are not made readily available to foreign exporters are said to lack

transparency.