WTO and Regional Trade Agreements

May 31 - June 11, 2010

tuition fee: $3950

Intended Audience: Practitioners from the public and private sectors involved in negotiating and ensuring compliance with regional and international trade agreements.

Course Objectives: The world trading system has undergone massive changes in the last decade. The creation of the WTO and the development of enforceable international rules governing trade in services and intellectual property rights as well as trade in goods vastly expanded the scope and effectiveness of the system. Yet the fitful progress of the Doha Round suggests that further progress on the multilateral level may be difficult if not impossible to achieve. While multilateral negotiations have stalled, countries around the world have accelerated their involvement in regional trade agreements. This seminar will examine the implications of these developments, providing a careful analysis of the WTO and the Uruguay Round Agreements, and a detailed study of regional trade agreements. The last part of the course will cover the techniques of negotiating trade agreements, and will be taught by highly experienced trade negotiators. It will include a detailed role-playing exercise. The program is designed as a practical course that will assist trade officials in their work and help enterprises to take full advantage of the opportunities provided by multilateral and regional trade agreements. The course will be taught by former and present senior government trade officials, leading academics, practitioners, and officials from multinational organizations, and will include site visits to U.S. government trade agencies and the Congress.

Course Structure: This course will focus on the WTO dispute settlement system, which is legally much stronger and more rigorous than its GATT predecessor, and on dispute settlement mechanisms in regional trade agreements. Particular attention will be directed at increasing the effectiveness of developing country participation in WTO and regional dispute settlement proceedings. The course will be intensely practical, and the speakers will include at least one former member of the WTO Appellate Body, individuals who have served as WTO panel members, and attorneys who have litigated cases before the WTO.

Course Outline

SESSION 1 – THE BASICS

Background

• History of GATT and WTO
• Organization and functions of WTO

The Fundamental Trade Rules

• Most-favored nation
• National treatment
• Tariff bindings
• The ban on quantitative restrictions
• Transparency

Customs Issues

• Classification
• Customs valuation
• Rules of origin
• Country-of-origin marking
• Trade facilitation

Import Defense Measures

• Antidumping, Countervailing Duties and Safeguards

Trade and Agriculture

• WTO Agreement on Agriculture

Non-Tariff Barriers

• Technical Barriers to Trade
• Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures

Trade and Government Procurement; Trade in Services; Trade and Intellectual Property; Dispute Settlement

Developing Countries

• Special and differential treatment
• Preferential arrangements

SESSION 2 – ADVANCED TOPICS

Economics of Trade; Investment Issues; The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures; Bilateral Investment Treaties; Trade and the Environment

Regional Trade Agreements

• The GATT/WTO rules on RTAs
• The economics and politics of RTAs
• Negotiating RTAs
• Scope of RTAs
• Rules of origin
• Advantages and disadvantages of RTAs

Negotiating Trade Agreements

• Deciding whether to negotiate
• Preparing for negotiations
• Conducting negotiations
• Role-playing exercise