www.theeconomicsofnafta.blogspot.com

Please refer to our new main site. http://www.tohellwithfreetrade.com

Saturday, May 12, 2012

What is the WTO Agreement on Anti-Dumping Measures? - Law - International Law


Dumping refers to a practice in international trade when a company exports a product at a lower price than the price it normally charges in its own home market - i.e. selling the goods at an unfairly low price which has the potential to damage the domestic market that cant compete with the low price. The company is said to be dumping the product.

The Anti-Dumping Agreement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Article 6 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) allow governments to act against dumping where there is genuine risk of injury to the competing domestic industry. Anti-dumping measures taken by governments usually include charging extra import duties on those goods from the exporting country. Essentially, this is a form of protectionism and discrimination between trading partners, which is something the WTO usually does not advocate, and thus the Anti-Dumping Agreement allows countries to act in a way that would normally constitute a breach of the principles of GATT.

To be able to come under the provisions of the Anti-Dumping Agreement and Article 6 of GATT, the countrys government must be able to show that dumping is taking place, calculate the extent of dumping, and show that the dumping is causing injury to the domestic market or threatening to do so. The provisions set out detailed rules on the method of determining that a product is dumped, the criteria to be taken into account in determining whether the dumping is causing injury to a domestic industry, and the procedures to be followed in initiating and conducting anti-dumping investigations. It also contains provisions on the implementation and duration of anti-dumping measures. It also has dispute settlement mechanisms.

If you are a business conducting international trade, the anti-dumping rules of international trade law may be relevant to you. An international trade lawyer can advise you on the rules and how they affect your business. If you have a dispute regarding dumping or anti-dumping measures, an international trade lawyer can provide you with legal advice and negotiate on your behalf.





State Trading and International Trade Negotiations - Business


State trading is a topic which evokes radically different reactions from different people. Some see state trading as inconsistent with a liberalized trading environment. For example, Sir Leon Brittan commented: "I should at this point raise a related issue concerning state Office Furniture Qatar, in other words, where a government has a special right to a designated corporation to import or export or to distribute certain goods... I think that, if we are to look at international competition rules seriously, the time is ripe to consider whether this antiquated form of monopoly trading can be phased out altogether."At the other end of the spectrum are those who feel that such institutions are essential for producers in markets dominated by a small number of multi-national traders. Representative of these views are two Australian wheat producers who writing in The Land, an Australian periodical claimed:"If the export market were deregulated, we would lose a great deal of our clout. The world market is not a level playing field and without a single desk we would be depowering a valuable marketing arm... export market deregulation would give a dangerous amount of market influence to large multi-national traders. They could force down the market price to suit their own mean." visit Kuwait ProjectsHISTORIC CONTEXTWith the advent of another round of multilateral trade negotiations, there is a renewed interest in state trading. The issue has existed as long as the GATT itself. The Havana Conference on Trade and Employment on March 24, 1948 was to have established the International Trade Organization (ITO). At that time state trading had expanded as a result of the war and there were efforts in the drafting of the Havana Charter to include provisions relating to state trading enterprises (STEs). Those drafting the GATT-ITO also recognized that a private firm may have significant market power and that power may be abused.Therefore, they put into the ITO Draft Charter a whole chapter on "restrictive trade practices". However by 1950, U.S. President Truman withdrew the Havana Charter from congressional consideration and the ITO died as a result. The GATT which had been adopted as a temporary interim agreement in 1947 survived. Although the chapter on restrictive trade practices died with the ITO, most of the provisions on state trading survived as Article XVII (paragraphs I and II) and Article II:4 of the GATT. In 1957, Article XVII was amended to introduce requirements for reporting specified activities and a provision that thecontracting parties "recognize" the importance of negotiations aimed toward lessening the level of protection provided by state trading.





TRADE DISTORTIONS AND MARKETING BARRIERS - Business - Business Ideas


Free trade makes a great deal of sense theoretically because it increases efficiency and economic welfare for all involved nations and their citizens. South Koreas trade barriers, however, do not represent an isolated case. In practice, free trade is woefully ignored by virtually all countries. Despite the advantages, nations are inclined to discourage free trade.

Why do nations impede free trade when the inhibition is irrational? One reason why governments interfere with free marketing is to protect local industries, often at the expense of local consumers as well as consumers worldwide. Regulations are created to keep out or hamper the entry of foreignmade products. Arguments for the protection of local industries usually take one of the following forms: (1) keeping money at home, (2) reducing unemployment, (3) equalizing cost and price, (4) enhancing national security, and (5) protecting infant industry.

Trade unions and protectionists often argue that international trade will lead to an outflow of money, making foreigners richer and local people poorer. This argument is based on the fallacy of regarding money as the sole indicator of wealth. Other assets, even products, may also be indicators of wealth. For instance, it does not make sense to say that a man is poor just because he does not have much cash on hand when he owns many valuable assets such as land and jewelry. In addition, this protectionist argument assumes that foreigners receive money without having to give something of value in return. Whether local consumers buy locally made or foreign products, they will have to have money to pay for such products. In either case, they receive something of value for their money.

The purposes are: Keeping money at home, Reducing unemployment, protect of local industries, Equalizing cost and price, Enhancing national security, and Protecting infant industry.

So, these countries making marketing barriers and different types of TARIFFS, DUTIES, Combined rates, and Taxes. As there are many other requirements such as Product requirements, Products testing, documents, origin of products, Product specifications, and different types of Quotas.

WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO) Virtually all nations seek to pursue their best interests in international trade. The result is that sooner or later international trade and marketing can be disrupted. To prevent or at least alleviate any problems, there is a world organization in Geneva known as the WTO (with General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) as its predecessor).Created in January 1948, the objective of GATT is to achieve a broad, multilateral, and free worldwide system of trading. For example, its code requires international bidding on major projects. GATT provides the forum for tariff negotiations and the elimination of trade discrimination.The four basic principles of GATT are

1 Member countries will consult each other concerning trade problems.2 The agreement provides a framework for negotiation and embodies results of negotiations in a legal instrument.3 Countries should protect domestic industries only through tariffs, when needed and if permitted. There should be no other restrictive devices such as quotas prohibiting imports.4 Trade should be conducted on a nondiscriminatory basis.

Generalized system of preferences (GSP) Although the benefits derived from the creation of the WTO are rarely disputed, less developed countries do not necessarily embrace GATT because those countries believe that the benefits are not evenly distributed. Tariff reduction generally favors manufactured goods rather than primary goods. Less developed countries rely mainly on exports of primary products, which are then converted by advanced nations into manufactured products for export back to less developed countries. As a result, a less developed countrys exports will usually be lower in value than its imports, thus exacerbating the countrys poverty status.

In response to less developed countries needs, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was created as a permanent organ of the UN General Assembly. Efforts by the UNCTAD led to the establishment of the New International Economic Order (NIEO) program. This program seeks to assist less developed countries through the stabilization of prices of primary products, the expansion of less developed countries manufacturing capabilities, and the acquisition by less developed countries of advanced technology.





Friday, May 11, 2012

Fair-Trading Rules - Business


Fair-trading rules are designed to prevent "unfair trading practices" of governments, exporters, or importers that give products from one country a competitive advantage over products from another country.

The unfair practices of major concern involve governmental subsidies and dumping practices by commercial entities.

Unfair trade practices of lesser concern include patent infringement, non-market pricing and export restrictions on critical raw materials. Other unfair trade practices such as discriminatory health, safety, or environment standards, customs valuation, and so on are essentially covered by the national-treatment principle.

The following discussion will concentrate on subsidies and dumping practices.Subsidies can be used by governments to affect international trade in three ways. Subsidies granted to domestic producers can enable them to gain a competitive advantage over imports.

Subsidies granted to exporters enable them to gain a competitive advantage over domestic producers in the importing country. And subsidies enable exporters in the subsidizing country to gain a competitive advantage in third-country markets over exporters from non-subsidizing countries.

These trade-distorting effects can cause economic injury to producers and workers in firms that are otherwise economically viable and efficient.The GATT recognizes these adverse effects but also recognizes that sovereign nations can use subsidies to achieve important domestic economic objectives.

Thus under the GATT, subsidy practices are not "illegal" per se, but only if they cause injury to producers and/or workers in a trading partner. In such cases the GATT aims at remedying the situation.

If subsidies stimulate exports that cause injury to import-competing firms in the importing country, the GATT authorizes the importing country to levy a countervailing duty sufficient to offset the price effect of the subsidy.

However, in the case of subsidies that reduce exports to the subsidizing country or that divert trade to a third country, the injured country has no unilateral remedy available other than to introduce competitive subsidies of its own, that is, to counter an unfair practice with an unfair practice.

In these latter cases, the remedy must come from consultations with the subsidizing country with the aim of eliminating the injurious effects of the subsidy.Dumping practices can have trade impacts similar to the effects of subsidies. And the remedies are similarly the introduction of an offsetting antidumping duty or international consultations.

The major distinction between these practices is that dumping is defined to be selling in the foreign market at prices below fair value. Theoretically, dumping is considered to be a specific action of a firm to increase the firm's market share, to sell off excess inventories, or to take advantage of profit-maximizing price-discriminatory opportunities.

In practice, however, the dumping issue is often concerned with government firms that benefit from the government's willingness to underwrite firm losses in order to maintain high levels of employment.

GATT has given the world a basic set of rules under which trade negotiations take place and a mechanism for ensuring these rules to be implemented. The principles and rules were originally contained in the Havana Charter for an International Trade Organization of the United Nations (the so-called ITO). However, the ITO was never ratified.

This failure to ratify the ITO left a void that was filled by a general agreement drawn up in 1947 to contain the results of a tariff conference presumed to be the first in a series of such conferences under the ITO.

In order to assure that tariff concessions would not be negated by other restrictions on trade, this agreement contained a number of rules governing international trade that were contained in the ITO charter. Because there was no international trade organization, this general agreement became the basis for the creation of an international institution for discussing and resolving trade issues among nations.





Just how Did the Actual Worldwide Overall Economy Get over World War 2? - Education


From your geopolitical and socioeconomic perspective, the final of WWII marked a first time of your new era in which the international community showed great resolve to be effective together in restoring the international economy. That is evident through international institutions that developed over the period 1944 to 1947 with broad goals of reconstruction in Europe, removing barriers to trade, and exchange rate stability. These initiatives had varying levels of success, but were all effective in one outstanding regard: instilling overarching faith and reliance on the market system.

Negotiations between Britain along with the U.S. were happening through the war. The immediate result was the Mutual Aid Agreement in 1941, which handled lend-loan agreements plus an exchange of ideas for collaborating among nations when peace was restored to rebuild a correctly functioning economy.

In April 1944, delegates from 44 nations met to draw economic policies to fulfill this goal in Bretton Woods, NH. Two international institutions were developed, in turn: the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) - now the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The objective of this meeting of delegates from the world's leading economies during the time was to provide stable monetary policy by fixing the exchange rates of member nations when it comes to either gold or dollars. Additionally, it sought to supply loans for reconstruction in Europe and, later, for economic growth initiatives in developing countries. In the process, an economic standard was developed that today is historically termed as the "Bretton Woods System."

Two other international institutions were developed in 1947 to stimulate world trade and investment: the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the European Recovery Aid (ERA). Twenty-three nations met in Geneva, Switzerland to devise GATT - the World Trade Organization since 1995 - and negotiated the decrease in tariffs on over 45,000 items, which represented nearly 50% of world trade. In 1949, GATT had 34 members, representing 80% of world trade. Inroads were created to move more detailed a free of charge trade system with the reinforcement with the Most-Favored Nation (MFN) clause, first seen under the Gold Standard from the late Nineteenth century.

A robust resolve in the international community as well as the formation of international institutions to support market processes played a huge role within this recovery from WWII. However, policymakers did not foresee the dollar gap that happened the mid-1940s, due to the running of trade surpluses by the U.S. as well as the resulting difficulty for Europe to export its goods, along with challenges in coming up with the dollars to purchase U.S. imports.

The IMF was essentially useless in their initial years as the financial crisis in individual nations prevented this supranational organization from fixing fx rates within specific par values towards the dollar or gold. Nonetheless, one modest success was its role in allowing 19 countries in Europe to devalue their currency in 1949 by approximately 30% to revive their balance of trade and improve its international competitiveness.

The achievements of GATT was limited, too. After 1949, there are no further meetings for the next five-years due in large part to disagreements from the U.S. stemming through the proven fact that Europe was allegedly reaping substantially more of the benefits from trade agreements.

Economic reconstruction occurred rapidly in Europe following WWII and led toe the Golden Age era in Europe. This remarkable duration of rapid growth and productivity is attributable, to some extent, towards the formation of international institutions that focused on stable monetary and trade policy. High levels of investment, full employment, and low inflation because of Keynesian policies drilled into these supranational institutions also played a predominant role inside economic recovery. Technological spill-overs from trade boosted labor productivity and, hence, real incomes throughout Western Europe.

Even though catch-up period was generally a Western European phenomenon and significant areas of Eastern Europe was under Soviet rule, the state the international economy after WWII ended was good overall. Japan had approximately 8% real GDP growth and Africa, 2.5%. Worth noting can be the fact that the IMF, the IBRD (World Bank), and GATT (WTO) all still play a crucial role in economic development today.





State-owned enterprises can make use of WTO provisions in the various regional concessions - Business


Nearly all WTO members are subordinate to the different regional economic integration organization terms of use WTO to participate in various regional preferential arrangements of great significance to China br br Finally end our long history of 15 years of accession negotiations to obtain full membership of the WTO which means that our country 39 s international economic position of considerable changes will occur from China 39 s reform and opening up will enter a new historical stages However to obtain WTO membership on China 39 s future can enjoy br br To the benefit of the analysis we have seen In fact China is the world 39 s multilateral trading system and not as some people think has made WTO membership as among the most favorable treatment quot MFN quot text certain misleading This is because in most cases the national customs tariff the quot most favored nation quot is in fact the basic tax rate sometimes the column often is the highest tax rate In the WTO multilat eral trading system but also there is a corresponding parallel objective phenomenon namely the growing number and scope of different regional economic integration arrangements br br So called quot regional economic integration quot in relation to aspects of the international trading system usually refers to a number of countries to negotiate tariff and non tariff preferences provide each other with the arrangements These preferential arrangements between the signatories in the agreement only applies to one another do not benefit any other third party Regional economic integration of the most common form of customs union free trade and other preferential arrangements Customs union in accordance with the form of the characteristics of regional preferential arrangements the alliance of trade among the members of each duty free all the members of other non member states set uniform import tariff rate in accordance with the form of a regional free trade area characteristics of pr eferential arrangements is the region duty free mutual trade among members but members can be imported from other non member can set its own tariff rates of goods br br Substantive regional integration arrangements in the GATT had existed before the birth The main source is the July 24 1923 after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire left the States British overseas territories and colonies that later left to form the Commonwealth preferential system of arrangements including Britain Canada Australia New Zealand South Africa Federation Ireland India Newfoundland Southern Rhodesia Burma Ceylon French overseas territories and later the Lom Agreement member countries France French Equatorial Africa French West Africa Cameroon French Somali Coast France Oceania residence Indochina Madagascar Morocco Togo Tunisia etc Netherlands Belgium and Luxembourg Economic Union and overseas colonies the Belgian Congo New Guinea Suriname Indonesia and so on These have been clearly documented in the GATT and in the text of the GATT Article I MFN exception form shall be maintained br br Strictly speaking the EU 39 s predecessor the European Economic Community in the last century 50 39 s set up with the relationship between GATT Article I MFN status has not been clarified That is the legitimacy of the European Economic Community in the GATT outstanding br br preferential arrangements among developing countries in GATT is based on the quot enabling clause quot as the legal basis for substantive arrangements for exclusive regional integration WTO membership is the basic attitude of tolerance and welcome Because WTO members felt that despite the relatively multilateral liberalization regional liberalization is a second best option However regional economic arrangements and economic globalization trade liberalization or quot two sides of a coin quot A broader sense regional and multilateral action to promote trade liberalization are complementary rather than mutually excl usive Countries with similar levels of economic development between the first and more easily reach agreement to reduce tariffs and non tariff barriers Regional economic and trade liberalization arrangement as a foundation for economic globalization and to create conditions WTO Secretariat a study in 1995 also concluded that regional agreements allow groups of countries to negotiate a multilateral level can hardly be related to the rules and commitments Therefore WTO generally require only regional economic integration arrangement is allowed to erect new barriers To this end regional economic integration arrangements must be notified to the WTO in detail the contents of preferential arrangements and accept the multilateral consideration February 6 1996 WTO General Council established the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements Purpose of the regional organization consistent with the WTO rules to consider the question assessment The Committee is also responsible for how the im pact of regional arrangements for the multilateral trading system regional and multilateral arrangements to consider the relationship between br br 1996 2 6 WTO General Council established the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements Its two main functions are to consider the various regional agreements consider these agreements affect the multilateral trading system systems and the relationships between them In the GATT era consideration of the agreement by a separate working group Regional Trade Agreements as the only deliberative body established the increased efficiency of the review process to discuss a complete system with common problems to provide a venue br br If you want to present the regional economic integration arrangements around the world arranged in a network diagram we can see it constitutes quite bulky The vast majority of countries almost all WTO members are subordinated to all of the different regional economic integration organizations many countries have also participated in several different rules of regional trade agreements According to WTO Secretariat data from the World Trade Organization in 1948 the predecessor of GATT during the period until 1994 GATT had received a cargo of 124 regional trade agreements on the establishment of the notification but since 1995 Since the founding of WTO WTO has received more than 100 on the establishment of regional trade in goods and services trade agreements notified If all of the above notification to the GATT or the WTO to establish the number of regional trade agreements combined there should be more than 200 but not all of these agreements today are still practical and effective some of which have suspended the implementation there has been been part of the original signatories to redesign the new agreement finished to succeed The actual implementation of the present and there is still substantial incentives number of regional trade agreements the content of some 150 or so In the se regional trade agreements nearly 60 is reached between the European countries but also a considerable part of belonging to different geographical regions in the range of agreement between the countries Preferential arrangements among developing countries account for regional trade agreements about 15 of the total some are





Wedding Photography in Utah - Art - Visual Art


Richard Gatt proves that "Best" doesn't have to cost more.Clients of wedding photographer Richard Gatt often tell him that he creates some of the best photographic images available in or around Salt Lake City, Utah. In fact, some would say he is one of the best wedding photographers in Utah.And, you don't have to pay more! Richard's prices are very affordable. While most of Richard's photography memorializes weddings, he also specializes in family, pregnancy, glamour, child, and pet photography and portraiture. While approximately 50 percent of Richard's wedding photography is of temple weddings, he also specializes in traditional wedding photography in Utah.Richard takes great pride in treating you and your family with the utmost respect on your wedding day. He believes that your wedding day is your unique celebration and that you are its celebrities--and that is the way you will be treated. Richard knows the importance of trust and respect throughout the process, and he specializes in exceeding his clients' expectations always.All too often, Richard has heard of stories of a wedding photographer who embarrassed the bride and groom on their wedding day by acting in a rude manner; their disappointment is almost always obvious in the photography, but obviously there can be no do-over. Richard knows that you want none of that! He gets it right the first time and understands that he is there to capture the joy and memorialize your special day with his photography in your own special way.A wedding photographer since 1987, Richard also creates bridal, engagement and family photography. Offering one-stop shopping, he also creates beautiful, memorable and affordable wedding photography invitations. Richard began his career at Kodak shortly after graduation from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a major in photography. Following his experience at Kodak, he opened his own studio in Rochester, a business he operated for over 11 years. After re locating to Salt Lake City, Utah in 1998, Richard established a wedding photography studio.An experienced and talented photographer/photojournalist, whose skills are fine-tuned to capture the essence of the event, Richard produces only high-quality wedding photography at an affordable price. Even throughout day-long shoots, he is able to keep the entire wedding party entertained and relaxed. His well-honed technique allows him to work through the wedding day formal portraits with uncommon smoothness and efficiency. Richard knows how important it is for you to have wonderful memories of your wedding day, to share your big day with family and friends as much as possible, and to avoid becoming bogged down with logistics.Richard's commitment to quality and affordability is the hallmark of his professionalism. He posts his price list here on his website, so that you may compare his prices against other photographers who call themselves his competition. See for yourself why what h is clients say about Richard as a photographic artist is true and why the Best Photographic Images in or around the Greater Salt Lake City Area and throughout Utah don't have to cost more.