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Articles 1 - 30 of 115
Full-Text Articles in Law
The Future Of The International Financial System: The Emerging Cbdc Network And Its Impact On Regulation, Heng Wang, Simin Gao
The Future Of The International Financial System: The Emerging Cbdc Network And Its Impact On Regulation, Heng Wang, Simin Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Central bank digital currency (CBDC) is a digital form of fiat currency. CBDC has the potential to be a game challenger in the international financial system, bringing increased complexities arising from technology and regulatory considerations, as well as generating greater currency competition. As more states begin exploring CBDC, the interactions between actors may lead to the emergence of a new CBDC network. What shape would the emerging CBDC network take? What would its network effects be? What would be the impact of the CBDC network on the international financial system, or the global financial network? This article explores these questions …
Data Sovereignty And Trade Agreements: Three Digital Kingdoms, Henry S. Gao
Data Sovereignty And Trade Agreements: Three Digital Kingdoms, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
For centuries, international lawyers have wrestled with the relationship between national sovereignty and international law. This is also the case of international trade law, where the tension between trade liberalization and national sovereignty culminated in the famous “Great 1994 Sovereignty Debate” between the late Prof. John Jackson and other leading scholars when the WTO came into being. As we enter the digital age, the issue of sovereignty resurfaced once again in the form of data sovereignty. In this paper, I will examine provisions in trade agreements which deal with data sovereignty issues, such as restrictions on data flow such as …
Conceptualising State-Centric Mediation: An Analysis Of China's Foreign Investment Complaints Mechanism, Mark Mclaughlin
Conceptualising State-Centric Mediation: An Analysis Of China's Foreign Investment Complaints Mechanism, Mark Mclaughlin
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This article argues that China's foreign investor complaints system constitutes 'state-centric investment mediation'. The Rules on Handling Complaints of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, which entered into force on 1 October 2020, place a state agency in the position of facilitating negotiations between a foreign investor and the agency being complained against. The prospects for this complaints system depend on how the state-as-mediator dynamic is perceived by foreign investors. To this end, it will be argued that settlement agreements reached pursuant to this system may be enforceable under the Singapore Convention on Mediation in certain circumstances. Investors and government entities operating similar systems …
The Compatibility Of The Substance Over Form Doctrine With Tax And Investment Treaties: A Case Study Of Lone Star V The Republic Of Korea, Blazej Kuzniacki
The Compatibility Of The Substance Over Form Doctrine With Tax And Investment Treaties: A Case Study Of Lone Star V The Republic Of Korea, Blazej Kuzniacki
Research Collection School Of Accountancy
In late August 2022, the Lone Star tribunal concluded one of the latest awards in tax-related investment treaty disputes (the tax-related claims account for almost USD 1.5 billion of the total of almost USD 4.7 billion claimed in compensation). It also is the first award in which the tribunal dealt with the application of the substance over form doctrine (SOFD) by tax authorities and courts of the host state to prevent the abuse of a double tax treaty (DTT), and the impact of the refusal to accord the claimants the benefits under the DTT via a domestic (Korean) SOFD on …
China’S Changing Perspective On The Wto: From Aspiration, Assimilation To Alienation, Henry S. Gao
China’S Changing Perspective On The Wto: From Aspiration, Assimilation To Alienation, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Since its accession to the WTO twenty years ago, China’s image has shifted from a good student aspiring to assimilate itself into the multilateral trading system to one that is increasingly alienated from key WTO principles. How has China’s perspective on WTO been evolving? What are the reasons behind China’s changing perspective? This chapter addresses these questions from the Chinese perspective with a comprehensive analysis of the key moments in China’s first two decades in the WTO, followed by practical suggestions on how to engage China more constructively in the WTO and beyond.
Competition Among Purposes: The Chinese Experience In The Governance Of Climate Change And Energy Transition, Henry S. Gao, Weihuan Zhou
Competition Among Purposes: The Chinese Experience In The Governance Of Climate Change And Energy Transition, Henry S. Gao, Weihuan Zhou
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Energy governance at the international level is fraught with difficulties due to the 'competition among purposes' between different bodies of international law. In this paper, we extend this thesis to argue that the same tension may be found in domestic energy governance. Drawing from China's experience in the governance of climate change and energy transition, we analyse how the misalignment of incentives between different actors and the incomplete market reform led to a drastic shift in policy in 2021. We also compare the different approaches in China's energy governance and trade governance and draw some general lessons on how developing …
The United States Vs. China: The Quest For Global Economic Leadership By C. Fred Bergsten, Henry S. Gao
The United States Vs. China: The Quest For Global Economic Leadership By C. Fred Bergsten, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This book is one of the latest additions to the voluminous literature exploring two of the biggest geopolitical trends in our age: the rise of China and its changing relationship with the United States. However, two features make this book unique. First is its scope: it is one of a few that specifically focus on the systemic implications to the global economic order arising from the tensions between the two largest economies in the world. Second, its author, C. Fred Bergsten, is one of the most qualified in the world to write on the topic. Bergsten not only is one …
The Geoeconomics Of Belt And Road Disputes: A Case Study On The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Mark Mclaughlin
The Geoeconomics Of Belt And Road Disputes: A Case Study On The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Mark Mclaughlin
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This article argues that the dovetailing economic, geopolitical, and security interests that underpin the Belt and Road Initiative demands a dispute resolution mechanism that focuses on broader interests and legal rights. Using the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a case study, it identifies the conditions in which Chinese investors could have initiated an investment arbitration but did not. This can be explained by the rights-based orientation of investment treaties failing to reflect the interests of multi-project initiatives. Instead, alternative methods of home state intervention, such as state-funded political risk insurance, are used to protect investors. In other words, the political …
Rethinking Asia-Pacific Regionalism And New Economic Agreements, Julien Chaisse, Pasha L. Hsieh
Rethinking Asia-Pacific Regionalism And New Economic Agreements, Julien Chaisse, Pasha L. Hsieh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The neoliberal international order is facing a variety of pressing obstacles. One of the most contentious issues is the emergence of new Asian regionalism, which has been driven by the rising economic power of the region and integration based on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Six framework. The legalization of the ASEAN way has propelled the New Regional Economic Order (NREO), which reinforces a trade-development nexus alternative to the Washington Consensus and will have far-reaching normative, economic, and geopolitical effects on the world. Given the proliferation of trade and investment initiatives including the ASEAN Economic Community and …
Influence In Investor-State Dispute Settlement: A Dynamic Concept, Rachel Cahill-O'Callaghan, Anna Luisa Howard, Stavros Brekoulakis
Influence In Investor-State Dispute Settlement: A Dynamic Concept, Rachel Cahill-O'Callaghan, Anna Luisa Howard, Stavros Brekoulakis
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) plays an increasingly important role in international trade resolution. The decisions have significant financial and in many cases policy implications, yet little is known about the formation of the ad-hoc panels and the decision-making process. Drawing on empirical evidence from interviews with key actors in the ISDS system, this article argues that influence plays a central role in both processes. The analysis further develops the framework for understanding influence in international decision-making to accommodate external factors (those visible to those appointing the decision-makers) and internal factors (those factors that become visible in the decision-making room). It …
New Investment Rulemaking In Asia: Between Regionalism And Domestication, Pasha L. Hsieh
New Investment Rulemaking In Asia: Between Regionalism And Domestication, Pasha L. Hsieh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The article analyses investment rulemaking in new Asian regionalism in the context of evolving national legislation and regional trade strategies. It argues that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) represent Asia's pragmatic incrementalism in reforming the investment regime. The process reinforces the relationship between international economic law and domestic investment laws. In tandem with transforming international investment agreements, ASEAN expedited investment and services trade, and established the modern investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism. The RCEP further buttresses the ASEAN centrality in regional frameworks by consolidating ASEAN Plus One agreements. Yet, the RCEP's …
Shaping New Interregionalism: The Eu-Singapore Free Trade Agreement And Beyond, Pasha L. Hsieh
Shaping New Interregionalism: The Eu-Singapore Free Trade Agreement And Beyond, Pasha L. Hsieh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The article examines the theoretical concept of interregionalism in the context of the evolving framework between the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). As the EU's first free trade agreement (FTA) with an ASEAN country, the EU-Singapore FTA is a pathfinder agreement that signifies a new phase of interregionalism and the EU's new Asia strategy after the Treaty of Lisbon. The article argues that the innovative designs of the EU-Singapore FTA will shape the normative development of EU-ASEAN relations in the post-pandemic era. It also cautions that a comparative analysis of EU and US agreements …
Trade And Transfer Of Environmentally Sound Technology In Asean: Mapping Priorities To Economic Treaty Negotiations, Locknie Hsu
Trade And Transfer Of Environmentally Sound Technology In Asean: Mapping Priorities To Economic Treaty Negotiations, Locknie Hsu
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (“ASEAN”) share common objectives in economic, sociocultural and political-security integration. Addressing environmental concerns is animportant consideration which traverses different areas of integration policymaking. ASEAN has, in recent years, emphasised the importance of environmental considerations, including environmentally sound technologies (“ESTs”) which may contribute to its climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, in its law and policymaking. This article discusses the nexus between ASEAN’s needs for the transfer of ESTs and the group’s economic treaty negotiations. Through a “mapping” of such needs to free trade agreementareas, it aims to provide a pathway …
The Investment Chapter In The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership: Enhanced Rules Without Enforcement Mechanism, Henry S. Gao
The Investment Chapter In The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership: Enhanced Rules Without Enforcement Mechanism, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This Chapter examines the legal rules in the investment chapter in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). It starts with an overview and summary of the main provisions in the chapter, followed by an assessment of the rules by comparing established free trade agreements (FTAs), especially the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership. In particular, it notes that the chapter, whilst largely following the established approaches to investment in other FTAs, also includes important twists to the common rules to favour the host states. The last part discusses the conspicuous absence of an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism, its pros and cons, …
Digital Services Trade And Trade Agreements, Henry S. Gao
Digital Services Trade And Trade Agreements, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Trade agreements have become the main forum for the regulation of digital services trade issues over the past decade. This chapter provides a comprehensive examination of the regulation of digital services trade in trade agreements, first reviewing the rules in the World Trade Organization (WTO), then comparing the approaches between the United States (US), the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and the European Union (EU), and explaining the reasons for their deep differences. This chapter further analyzes such provisions in trade agreements in Asia and the Pacific, which has become one of the most dynamic regions in terms of new …
Exporting The First Amendment Through Trade: The Global 'Constitutional Moment' For Online Platform Liability, Han-Wei Liu
Exporting The First Amendment Through Trade: The Global 'Constitutional Moment' For Online Platform Liability, Han-Wei Liu
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The U.S. in the recent United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and U.S.-Japan Digital Trade Agreement adopts a new clause which mirrors Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, shielding online intermediaries from third-party contents liability. For policymakers, the seemingly innocuous “Interactive Computer Services” title creates the fundamental challenge in balancing free speech against competing interests in the digital age. This Article argues against globally normalizing this clause through its diffusion in trade deals. Internally, as the Biden Administration has offered a clean slate to discuss reforms to the controversial regime, it is unwise for U.S. trade negotiators to export the …
Constitutional Traditions As Boundaries In Standardizing Administrative Rulemaking Through Trade Agreements, Han-Wei Liu, Ching-Fu Lin
Constitutional Traditions As Boundaries In Standardizing Administrative Rulemaking Through Trade Agreements, Han-Wei Liu, Ching-Fu Lin
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Pioneered by the US, recent mega-regional trade agreements such as the CPTPP have incorporated ‘regulatory coherence’ provisions—mirroring the US Administrative Procedural Act's core designs—to balance between domestic regulatory autonomy and international cooperation. Building upon existing literature that traces the trajectories of the diffusion of regulatory coherence across jurisdictions, this article analyses how Australia's constitutional tradition could effectively condition the development of regulatory coherence in a Westminster-based model of governance. It is argued that the global entrenchment of regulatory coherence is contingent upon the inherent boundary defined by the political dynamics and constitutional structures within a jurisdiction.
A Chinese Perspective, Henry S. Gao
A Chinese Perspective, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Many factors have been driving regional economic integration in the Asia-Pacific in the past two decades, but the main driving force in the past decade has been the strategic competition between the two biggest powers in the region — the United States and China. This paper discusses the Chinese perspective of how the US-China strategic competition has shaped regional economic cooperation, along with the disruptions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. It concludes with some thoughts on post-pandemic economic cooperation in the region.
China’S Changing Perspective On The Wto: From Aspiration, Assimilation To Alienation, Henry S. Gao
China’S Changing Perspective On The Wto: From Aspiration, Assimilation To Alienation, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Since its accession to the WTO twenty years ago, China's image has shifted from a good student aspiring to assimilate itself into the multilateral trading system to one that is increasingly alienated from key WTO principles. How has China's perspective on WTO been evolving? What are the reasons behind China's changing perspective? This paper answers these questions from the Chinese perspective with a comprehensive analysis of the key moments in China's first two decades in the WTO, followed by practical suggestions on how to engage China more constructively in the WTO and beyond.
Asean-Korea Strategic Partnership In New Asian Regionalism, Rachel Liting Chang
Asean-Korea Strategic Partnership In New Asian Regionalism, Rachel Liting Chang
Centre for Commercial Law in Asia
Over the past two decades, Asia has witnessed increasing regional trade integration with the rapid increase of free trade agreements (FTAs), constituting almost half of global trade pacts. Such a phenomenon has been said to give rise to “new Asian regionalism”, which is defined as a fundamental change in the multilateral trading system. It is a novel and normative integration process which focuses on ASEAN, and in particular the ASEAN Plus Six framework underlying Asia’s increasing economic power.
China And The Wto: Why Multilateralism Still Matters, By André Sapir And Petros C. Mavroidis, Eds., Henry S. Gao
China And The Wto: Why Multilateralism Still Matters, By André Sapir And Petros C. Mavroidis, Eds., Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This timely book addresses the most important problem facing the WTO: the challenge of the unique economic model of China, the largest emerging economy in the world. Penned by a leading trade lawyer and a leading trade economist, the book provides an excellent account of the legal rules with a firm grounding in economic analysis. Starting with an overview of China’s economic reform and its accession to the GATT and then the WTO, the book notes how China’s integration into the global trading system has been propelling its phenomenal economic growth. At the same time, however, its rise has led …
Regional Mapping: Digital Provisions Play A Key Role In Asia Pacific Agreements, Henry S. Gao
Regional Mapping: Digital Provisions Play A Key Role In Asia Pacific Agreements, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
IT HAS become more commonplace for trade agreements in the Asia Pacific to include a variety of digital trade provisions. To understand the salient features of these agreements, it is helpful to map out their main baseline features. Doing so also indicates where digital trade agreements may be going or need to go. This mapping covers all free trade agreements (FTAs) with chapters on e-commerce or digital trade since 2000 by the main players in the region-China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia.
Will The European Union’S New Anti-Coercion Instrument Work With China?, Henry S. Gao
Will The European Union’S New Anti-Coercion Instrument Work With China?, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Recent years have witnessed the growing use of trade measures as geopolitical weapons. In response, the European Union is introducing a new instrument.
The Eu-China Comprehensive Agreement On Investment: Between Strategic Opportunity And Strategic Autonomy, Henry S. Gao
The Eu-China Comprehensive Agreement On Investment: Between Strategic Opportunity And Strategic Autonomy, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This article provides a critical analysis of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), which was concluded in principle by the EU and China on 30 December 2020. It was hailed as “the most ambitious agreement that China has ever concluded with a third country” by the EU, and a “high-level” agreement that matches “international high-level economic and trade rules” by China. Upon a closer examination, however, such rhetoric does not appear to be warranted as the Agreement failed to add much in terms of substance. What, then, explains the rationale between the Agreement? This article argues that the key …
Mapping Sustainable Development In Investment Treaties: An Analysis Of Asean States' Practice, Mark Mclaughlin
Mapping Sustainable Development In Investment Treaties: An Analysis Of Asean States' Practice, Mark Mclaughlin
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The interaction between sustainable development and international investment treaties is of growing concern. Could investment protection stymie health regulation? Will States be sued for introducing measures to tackle climate change? A growing body of sustainability-related case law is evidence that arbitral tribunals balance investment obligations against States’ ability to regulate for national security, health, the environment, labour rights, transparency, and corporate social responsibility. Against this background, this paper maps sustainable development issues in 371 bilateral investment treaties (hereinafter “BITs”) concluded by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) States. It finds that only 26% of these treaties make any reference …
The Roadmap To The Asean-Eu Fta In The Post-Pandemic Era, Pasha L. Hsieh
The Roadmap To The Asean-Eu Fta In The Post-Pandemic Era, Pasha L. Hsieh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Relations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) have enriched the multifaceted concept of interregionalism from legal and international relations perspectives. The article argues that the transformative ASEAN-EU frameworks have shaped the Third Interregionalism. Brussels' building-block approach envisions pathfinder agreements with individual ASEAN states as the basis for the ASEAN-EU FTA, which will help realize the EU's Indo-Paafic strategy and the ASEAN-EU Strategic Partnership. The designs of the EU's trade and investment agreements with Singapore and Vietnam are therefore critical. The article assesses core areas such as tariff liberalization and ASEAN cumulative rules of …
Promising Trail Or Perilous Trap? Engaging China In The Wto And Beyond, Henry S. Gao
Promising Trail Or Perilous Trap? Engaging China In The Wto And Beyond, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
How to deal with China? This is the biggest question confronting U.S. trade policy - or even the United States' entire foreign policy - today. Over the past few years, the debate on this important issue has benefited from the contributions of many trade law scholars, including those by Mark Wu, Jennifer Hillman, Petros Mavroidis, André Sapir, Rob Howse, Weihuan Zhou, and the present author. In Governing the Interface of U.S.-China Trade Relations, Gregory Shaffer offers refreshing insights. Building on the framework developed by the U.S.-China Trade Policy Working Group, of which he is a member, Shaffer further adjusts the …
E-Commerce Governance: Back To Geneva?, Henry S. Gao
E-Commerce Governance: Back To Geneva?, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is no stranger to e-commerce governance. It launched its first initiative to regulate e-commerce1 at its second Ministerial Conference in May 1998, a few months before Google was founded. At the Ministerial Conference, WTO members adopted the Declaration on Global Electronic Commerce, 2 which recognized the “new opportunities for trade,” and directed the General Council to “establish a comprehensive work programme to examine all trade-related issues relating to global electronic commerce, including those issues identified by Members.”
China's Regulatory Crackdowns And U.S.-China Trade And Investment Relations, Henry S. Gao
China's Regulatory Crackdowns And U.S.-China Trade And Investment Relations, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
China's regulatory crackdowns have affected U.S. and Chinese companies, but protectionist trade policies implemented by the Trump administration and continued by the Biden administration have severely restricted the ability of the U.S. government to protect U.S. businesses in the Chinese market. Unless the U.S. government changes course, American companies will be increasingly less able to address perceived wrongs in Chinese government policies and will be placed at a significant economic disadvantage in much of Asia.
The Inclusion Of Anti-Corruption Clauses In International Investment Agreements And Its Possible Systemic Implications, Yueming Yan
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Empirical studies have demonstrated a recent trend of incorporating anti-corruption provisions into international investment and trade agreements. Some treaties, i.e. the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, include both substantive and procedural obligations such as establishing corruption as criminal offenses, promoting integrity among public officials, and raising public awareness of the threat of corruption. Others like Japan prefer to insert rather general and abstract provisions in its bilateral investment treaties, stating that they agree to take efforts to prevent and combat corruption without indicating specific measures. This article attempts to take a closer look at these anti-corruption provisions by …