Module
Global Trade Law

Type
Core GBM module (30 hours)

ECTS
5

UoW credits
10

Coordinator
Justyna Krzywicka, LLB

Overall Aims and Purpose
The course presents the international trade environment, as trade, along with the free movement of capital, is at the heart of today's international economy. Therefore, the lecture will provide a concise and accessible evaluation of major developments in trade and trade policy. There will be presented multinational trading system, as well as regional trade arrangements and policy developments at the national level.
Moreover, the lecture aims at the presentation of international legal rules and the so-called soft law instruments. It will demonstrate how soft and hard law can be combined to promote global trade, environmental and social cohesion, in ways that also permit sustainable development. The lecture will focus on dispute settlement process. The effect of WTO norms on a broad range of European economic and social policy fields, affecting regulatory and distributive policies will also be examined. Global trade law is extrinsically linked to the issues of international relations and politics, as current global trading arrangements has an immense impact on possible limitation of poverty and inequality. International trade norms are also used as a tool for sustainable development, labour standards, protection of environment.
The lecture will end with the presentation of future development of global trade institutions and regulations; the co-operation enhancing global governance: corporate social responsibility within the investment framework. Diverse proposals advocated by the global justice movement to make global trade more sustainable will also be examined.

Course Content
1. Introduction. History and evolution of the trading system.
2. Global trade negotiations. Theories on free trade. The US-UK agreements, the Havana Conference and the origins of GATT. The Harberler Report, the Tokyo Round, the Uruguay Round.
3. The current trading system: main instruments of the WTO/GATT. Sources of international trade. Economic Partnership Agreements. Regulatory bodies of international trade.
4. The agreement on agriculture. The TRIMS agreement. The general agreement on trade in services, trade, environment and sustainable development.
5. The impact of the WTO on developing countries. Low-income countries and trade. Trade, poverty and inequality. Problems for developing countries in implementing their WTO obligations.
6. Dispute settlement process. Transnational litigation. International commercial arbitration.
7. Proposals for the expansion of the WTO into new areas.
8. Liberalisation and human development. Requirements and objectives of the trade system. Hard choices and soft law in sustainable global development.
9. Trade policy and labour standards: objectives, instruments, and institutions.
10. WTO and environment issues. The policies of the global justice movement.
11. The impact of WTO on EU regulations (single market law, external trade, structural and cohesion funding, cultural policy, social policy, and aspects of public health and environmental policy).
12. Multinational corporations, globalisation, and the challenge of self-regulation
13. Enhancing global governance: corporate social responsibility and the international trade and investment framework. The evolution of international norms.
14. Proposals for improving the global trading system: implementation problems; transparency and participation in the WTO.
15. Rethinking the nature of liberalisation and development. Proposals for changes in the scope of the WTO's mandate. The role of other organizations within the trading system.

Reading list

Essential:
Buckman G., Global Trade. Past Mistakes, Future Choices, Zed Books Ltd 2005.
Charnovitz S., Trade Law and Global Governance, Cameron May 2002.
Gearey A., Globalization and Law. Trade, Rights and War, Rowman & Littlefield 2005.
Greenaway D., World Economy: Global Trade Policy, Blackwell 2005.

Suggested
Burca, Grainne de, The EU and the WTO. Legal and Constitutional Issues, Hart Publishing 2003.
Khor, M., WTO and the Global Trading System. Development Impacts and Reform Proposals, Zed Books 2005.
Kirton J. J., M. Trebilcock, Voluntary Standards in Global Trade, Environment and Social Governance, Ashgate 2004.