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This is a guest course taught by two experts directly from the World Trade Organization - Dr Rubinova and Dr Munro.
Among other things, Rubinova regularly co-authors important parts of the World Trade Report (most recently, the 2024 WTR), she has also co-authored scholarly works, especially on regionalism. Munro is an expert on international economic law; beyond his daily work for the WTO itself, has has authored an Oxford University Press monograph on emission trading schemes. The course will be taught as a block course in the week of March 17-21. Economic globalisation is at the centre of ongoing debates in areas as diverse as sustainability and climate change, national security, fair and balanced economic growth, and the very restructuring of international relations seemingly underway. This subject offers a sophisticated understanding not only of contemporary globalisation, but also the reactionary trends that continue to emerge in varied forms: ‘trade wars’ between major economies, banning trade in critical technology like semiconductors or 5G, repatriating foreign supply-chains, and concerns around the ‘State-led’ capitalist model in economies like China. We offer a detailed analysis of these phenomena and how States are using existing and new legal instruments to manage the risks and impacts of globalisation as it evolves and adapts to contemporary trends. Poslední úprava: Parízek Michal, doc., Ph.D. (06.02.2025)
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A student who has successfully completed this subject should be able to: 1. Explain the economic rationale behind international trade agreements, as well as the economic benefits of globalisation, the distributional impacts of trade liberalisation, and the role of regulatory frameworks that facilitate adjustment to international competition. 2. Apply knowledge of the existing legal instruments at the international level that are available to address economic impacts of import competition, especially the “trade remedy” tools under the WTO treaties; and justify the economic rationales underlying these tools. 3. Analyse and contextualise current issues in global economic relations and trade policy, and why States are innovating with new legal tools for addressing these issues. 4. Identify and examine new and emerging legal tools at the domestic level for addressing competition-related and geopolitical risks and impacts of globalisation. Principal topics will include: · An overview of the economics of international trade in theory and in practice, including recent developments in global trade and trade policy. · An examination of legal tools designed to manage competition-related challenges of globalization. These include safeguards, countervailing measures, and anti-dumping measures. · An examination of legal tools designed to manage geopolitical challenges. These include emerging instruments designed in relation to economic coercion, sensitive technologies, and security-concerns around supply chains in certain critical sectors. Poslední úprava: Parízek Michal, doc., Ph.D. (06.02.2025)
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Assessment 15% class participation. 2000-word take home exam (85%). Further detail on the style and content of the take home exam will be provided in class. The assessment criteria comprise: · Knowledge, understanding, and analytical assessment of the material covered in this subject · Development of persuasive arguments supported by evidence and reasons · Consideration of opposing arguments in reaching a conclusion · Clear and logical structure · Clear expression and effective communication of ideas Poslední úprava: Parízek Michal, doc., Ph.D. (06.02.2025)
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Readings
Class 1 and 2 · WTO, World Trade Report 2024 (2024), Chapter A and Chapter B, pp. 18-39 · WTO, World Trade Report 2023 (2023), Chapter A and Chapter B, pp. 16-26 · Alan Sykes, The Law and Economics of International Trade Agreements, Chapter 2, pp. 5-18 and 27-31. · Margaret M. Pearson, Meg Rithmire, and Kellee S. Tsai, ‘China’s Party-State Capitalism and International Backlash: From Interdependence to Insecurity’ (2022) 47(2) International Security pp. 135-142. · Podcast: "The Economics Show", episode "Trump and the history of tariffs. With Doug Irwin", available at https://www.ft.com/content/4109536a-4c9a-4d8c-b7d8-c6a826b4d12b. Class 3 · Skim the following extracts of treaties: o The WTO Agreement on Safeguards (all, focusing on Articles 2 and 4) o Article XIX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1947 o Article 2 of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement (including its subparagraphs) o Articles 1 and 2 of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (‘SCM Agreement’ or ‘Subsidies Agreement’) · Chad P. Bown and Jennifer A. Hillman, ‘WTO’ing a Resolution to the China Subsidy Problem’ (2019) 22 Journal of International Economic Law pp. 562-570 · USDOC, ‘China’s Status as a Non-Market Economy’, pp. 4-7 (Executive Summary) Class 4, 5 and 6 · Tania Voon, ‘Case Note: Russia – Measures Concerning Traffic in Transit’ (2020) 114 American Journal of International Law pp. 97-102 · Panel Report, US – Steel and Aluminium (China), paras. 2.2-2.6, 2.9, 2.14, and all of section 7.8.3 (paras. 7.129-7.148) · Panel Report, US – Origin Marking (Hong Kong (China)), paras. 7.253-7.268 and 7.306-7.316 and 7.353-7.359. · WTO, World Trade Report 2023 (2023), Chapter C, pp. 46-53. · European Parliament Research Service, ‘Proposed anti-coercion instrument’ (2022) pp. 1-12 · Panel Report, US – Tariffs (China), paras. 7.113-7.119, 7.127-7.141, 7.163-7.164, 7.191-7.192, 7.229, 7.236-7.238. · Podcast: ‘Trade Talks’, Episode 170 entitled ‘National Security, Semiconductors, and the US move to cut off China’, available at: https://tradetalkspodcast.com/podcast/170-national-security-semiconductors-and-the-us-move-to-cut-off-china/ · Simon Evenett, ‘What Caused the Resurgence In FDI Screening?’ (SUERF Policy Note, 2021) pp. 2-18
Further resources World Trade Organization. <www.wto.org> This is the official website of the WTO. The most useful areas of the website for you are likely to be: · Specific trade remedies pages – Go to the ‘Trade topics’ menu in the top right hand corner of the WTO home page, then scroll down to ‘Goods’ then to ‘Anti-dumping’, ‘Safeguard measures’, or ‘Subsidies & countervail’. See also the trade remedies data portal at: https://trade-remedies.wto.org/en · Dispute settlement gateway – Go to the ‘Trade topics’ menu, then scroll down to ‘Dispute settlement’. From here you can link to all the disputes and related documents, as well as details of the current DSU reform negotiations.. · WTO Analytical Index – Go to the ‘Resources’ menu, then ‘Publications’. This index contains summaries and explanations of WTO Panel and Appellate Body reports as they relate to specific WTO provisions. See https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/publications_e/ai17_e/ai17_e.htm · Docs online – Go to the ‘Documents’ menu, then scroll down to ‘Official documents’, or type: · Economic Research – Go to the “Documents, data and resources” menu in the top right hand corner of the WTO home page and select “Economic Research”. International trade patterns: https://atlas.cid.harvard.edu/explore Textbooks: · Free online textbook on International Trade Law released in 2023, accessible at: https://genevatradeplatform.org/e-casebook/ (Note: access requires creating an account). This online textbook has been prepared by former appellate judges and eminent academics in the field of WTO law, and can be cited as Gao, Hillman, Lamp, and Pauwelyn (eds), International Trade Law: A Casebook for a System in Crisis (2023). · Petros Mavroidis, Trade in Goods (2nd ed) · Alan Sykes, The Law and Economics of International Trade Agreements · Paul Krugman, Maurice Obstefld and Marc Melitz, International Trade: Theory and Policy, Global Edition Poslední úprava: Parízek Michal, doc., Ph.D. (06.02.2025)
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Class 1 and 2: Recent Trends in International Trade and Trade Policy, and the Basics of International Trade Economics This session provides an overview of main trends in economic globalisation and the evolution of trade policy. It explains the economic rationale for international trade, focusing on different channels through which trade liberalization affects consumers, firms and workers. The session explains gains from trade as well as the economic adjustment to trade opening. This session also examines the way in which these economic concepts have been translated into ‘law’ at the international level with binding adjudication and enforcement, and hence why we will be discussing ‘legal tools/instruments’ to manage economic impacts of globalisation in the course. Finally, this session discusses recent trends in global trade and trade policy such as the trade tensions between the world's two largest economies and the impact of increased geopolitical tensions, which provides the background for the discussion of ‘legal tools/instruments’ to manage geopolitical challenges. Class 3: Trade Policy Instruments to Manage Economic Impacts of Globalization This session introduces the three main trade policy instruments to manage economic impacts of import competition, namely anti-dumping measures, countervailing (or anti-subsidy) measures, and safeguard measures. These instruments are largely provided for in the multilateral WTO framework, albeit subject to innovations and adaptations at the domestic level in major jurisdictions in response to various recent challenges. The discussion includes one of the major contemporary issues in international trade and its governance, namely the issue of non-market economies in the WTO system. Given the WTO Accession Protocols of countries like China and Vietnam, anti-dumping measures have been the primary legal tool used by States to redress harm allegedly caused by non-market economic practices in those countries. However, has the relevant provision of these Accession Protocols now expired? Are economies like the US and EU allowed to continue applying a form of “non-market economy” status to economies like China? More broadly, are the competition-related tools fit for purpose in light of contemporary international relations and modern economic trends? Are WTO rules capable of evolving to accommodate the reforms at the domestic level? Class 4, 5 and 6: Trade Policy Instruments to Manage Geopolitical Risks of Globalization The process of globalisation has seen governments open up their economies and societies. But what happens when there is a breakdown in trust in relations with another country? What happens when there is a clash in values, or a failure to cooperate on common challenges? In this session we introduce the second basket of legal tools to manage globalisation, namely tools to deal with these kinds of (non-economic) breakdowns in relations. Unlike the competition-related legal tools, these legal tools are not explicitly provided for in the multilateral WTO framework. Rather, they have emerged in a “bottom up” way from the domestic level. But this does not mean that these tools are necessarily incompatible with WTO rules or other international treaties e.g. investment treaties and free trade agreements. Rather, these treaties contain “national security” exceptions that allow States to take measures to protect their security interests in certain circumstances. In this context, we discuss trade policy tools such as the EU’s new “anti-coercion instrument”, the US’ recent moves to block semiconductor exports to China and, on the flip side, the moves by certain countries to prevent certain Chinese telecommunications products from being used in their domestic 5G networks. What does the emergence of these domestic tools say about the international legal framework, and on the flipside, does the international legal framework sufficiently accommodate these tools? What does the emergence of these domestic legal tools tell us about the future of international trade relations? Poslední úprava: Parízek Michal, doc., Ph.D. (06.02.2025)
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Make use of this unique opportunity to take a course on one of the most contested international organizations today - the World Trade Organization (have you heard president Trump?), with two senior experts, practitioners on its staff. Register in the standard registration period to take part in this block course. Poslední úprava: Parízek Michal, doc., Ph.D. (29.01.2025)
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