International Law

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International Law

• Treaty types
• Bilateral
• Multilateral
• Treaty examples
• Patent Cooperation Treaty
• Code on International Marketing of Breast-milk
  Substitutes
• Treaties of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation

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How to Resolve Conflicts?

• War
• Negotiation
• International organizations
• GATT
• WTO
• IMF
• World Bank

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GATT

• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
• Both a treaty and an organization
• Post-WWII (1947)
• Geneva, Switzerland
• Based on voluntary relinquishment of national
  sovereignty
• 23 countries ? 144 countries
• Discussion rounds
• Most favored nation clause

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GATT Goals

• Ensure nondiscrimination
• Ensure transparent procedures
• Mechanism for settlement of disputes
• Enhance participation by lesser countries in
  international trade
• Remove barriers to trade

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WTO

• World Trade Organization
• Successor to GATT (1995)
• Goals
• Remove obstacles to trade
• Forum for trade negotiations
• Mechanism for trade dispute resolution
• Doha Round (2001 - ????)
• Fast Track Authority
• Is it dead? (Wikipedia Doha Round)

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Case Study China

• Is it good for China to participate in GATT/WTO?
• Pros
• More exports to other countries
• Easier to import necessities from other countries
• Cons
• Radical changes required in tariffs
• Ex Auto manufacturers must cut tariffs from
  80-100 to 25

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Challenges

• Reduction of domestic policy influence
  INTERDEPENDENCE

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Reduction in Domestic Policy Influence

• Taylors First Law of International Business
• A country can no longer control its own destiny
• INTERDEPENDENCE
• Example
• Agriculture issues

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Challenges

• Reduction of domestic policy influence
  INTERDEPENDENCE
• Weakening of traditional international
  institutions

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Weakening of International Organizations

• GATT/WTO already did easy work
• Earlier disagreements were set aside for later,
  which is NOW
• Introduction of social causes complicates
  matters
• Labor laws
• Competition laws
• Emigration freedom
• Global warming

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International Monetary Fund

• IMF
• UN agency
• Established in 1944
• Provides financial assistance to poor countries
• Goal is to reduce balance of payment problems
• Financial limitations

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World Bank

• Established in 1945
• Set up through UN, but agencies are owned by
  independent governments
• Initial purpose Aid in European reconstruction
• Current purpose Facilitate trade
• Key focus Former Soviet bloc countries
• Bad policies?

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Challenges

• Reduction of domestic policy influence
  INTERDEPENDENCE
• Weakening of traditional international
  institutions
• Sharpening of conflict between industrialized and
  developing countries

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Sharpening of North/South Conflict

• Goal To narrow gap
• Text Isnt happening
• Text Countries/Companies not so concerned about
  global issues now
• Text Need more incentive